PlanetEye

What are the true virtues of a downtown urban mega-mall?  Think: hunger that won't allow for the delay of exploring further afield; shopaholicalism that you suffer a sudden and unexpected bout of; or pure practical necessity in the form of replacing a lost item while you're on the road, or getting the extra dress shirt or shoes you left home without.

This is what comes to mind, at least, when mentioning the Bayside Marketplace.  Located on Biscayne Boulevard and backing on the downton waterfront, it's easily accessible if you're staying in one of the city's high-rise executive-class hotels, be it Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt.  As far as merchants, however, the much touted "international" aspect of the Marketplace leaves a bit to be desired, although you'll find many of the usual suspects such as Gap, Nike, Bath "N Body Works, a Hard Rock Cafe and a food court.  Sightseeing cruises also depart from the on-site marina.  Located near Biscayne and Fourth; check their website for hours and vendors.

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Bayside Marketplace - 401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; Tel: (305) 577-3344 

Sprawled across two city blocks not far off busy Collins Avenue, the Bass Museum of Art is one of the more tranquil and enriching pleasures adjacent to this northern section of South Beach that makes for an interesting and very different diversion away from the usual outdoor and entertainment life nearby.

Along with the excellent variety of permanent works of both New and Old World origin on display here, the Musuem has a number of visiting exhibits at any given time that make more visits here always worthwhile.  Their three current visiting exhibitions are: 

VOOM PORTRAITS Robert Wilson - a provocative exhibition of high-definition video portraits by epochal avant-garde artists Robert WIlson.  Portraits of of 38 people and animals, including celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr. are presented on large-scale screens and accompanied by oiginal musical scores.  (Now through August 3, 2008).

Splendor in The Bass: The Portraits - integrated with the Wilson exhibition, this installation highlights aspects of the original John and Johanna Bass founding donation to the museum, and features traditional portaiture from the past five centuries to the present. Works include 17th Century Italian, Flemish and Dutch masters including Van Dyck, van Musscher, as well as British portraitists in the Grand Manner such as West, Romney and Hoppner.  (Now through October 19, 2008).

20th Centry Spanish Drawings from the FUNDACION MAPFRE Collection - an exciting exhibition of over 50 drawings by Spanish and other artists internationally whose careers were impacted by Spain.  Sketches and illustrations by artists such as Pablco Picasso, Joan Miro, Juan Gris, and Picabia are on display.  (Now through November 2, 2008).

The museum also hosts a wide mix of workshops, concerts, lectures throughout the year.  The museum's shop sells an eclectic of art, architecture and photography books, folk art from around the world, and decorative gift items and jewelry.

Admission: $8 general; $6 seniors/students; free - members & children under 6.  Check the website for museum hours 

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Bass Museum of Art – 2121 Park Ave. (in Collins Park), Miami; Tel: (305) 673-7530

At 18 floors high, it may be the loftiest new bar and lounge in South Beach while also boasting the largest swimming pool on a rooftop anywhere in the U.S.  So it’s appropriate that the rooftop retreat at the recently opened Gansevoort South Resort on Collins Avenue is named Plunge Bar and Lounge.    

Making a big social splash of its own ever since the Gansevoort South’s grand opening earlier this year, the main elements at Plunge are the centerpiece 110 foot long plunge pool, surrounded by a huge teak deck floored area punctuated by oversized white chaise beds which are shaded by umbrellas and the occasional towering palm. Then there are roomy multi-colored cabanas positioned closer to the bar, an ideal oasis for escaping the humid sunshine and kicking back or watching the flat-screen TV each cabana is outfitted with.  All in all, there are some 26,000 square feet of lounging area here, designed by Stephane Dupoux. As the summer day melts into a pale evening purple, the social scene warms up, and this bar lounge seems destined to become one of the city’s landmark hotspots given also the growth trend in this section of SoBe.  Keeping the palate equally satisfied is the Plunge bar, which serves specialty cocktails and small plate samplings. Drinks average around $13. But aside from the man-made spectacular touches, and the swell-looking crowd that gathers as the stars come out, it’s surely the sweeping vistas on hand of the Atlantic, Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami that remain the natural piece-de-resistance that makes Plunge sensuous and vivid experience you’ll come back to for more..

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Far from the glitz and glam of Miami Beach's oceanfront entertainment and lifestyle, there lies another side of the city that explores style in a more substantial manner.

Wait. We'd be lying if we said it was that far.  In fact it's a fairly easy drive across a causeway and into the downtown sidestreets or, if you must, a slower navigation southward along Biscayne Blvd. if you're approaching downtown from the north.  Or of course many visitors may take the I-95 and exit anywhere between 36th and 14th Streets.  The area we're talking about is known as the Wynwood Art District, and if you're interested in the creative energies that call Miami home, this is the place to come and explore.  The Wynwood Art District is a sprawling area of over 20 blocks stretching north to south between 36th Street at its northern end and extending as far south as 14th Street; it reaches from easternmost locations at N.E. 2nd Ave. to points at N.W. 6th Ave.  It encompasses a huge variety of enterprises, ranging from art institutions, museums, and galleries to collecions, studios and alternative spaces.  There's even an association of all these local art stops called The Wynwood Art District that can provide you the art adventurer with a printable map and links to the many venues  

Because of the huge number of individual galleries, studios, and art complexes in this Wynwood neighborhood of the city, beginning your search online at the portal style assocation website for a preview of what's based there is probably your ideal planning method.  But some reliable highlights to consider as far as area museum and collection venues are: MOCA at Goldman Warehouse (www.mocanomi.org); The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse (www.margulieswarehouse.com); Rubell Family Collection (www.rubellfamilycollection.com); and CIFO Art Space (www.cifo.org).  Along with the year-round points of aesthetic energy, there are a variety of annual events and fairs exhibiting art forms that are also a growing draw. If it all sounds time and energy consuming, you can relax at bistros and in-house dining at some of the museum  spots and cool bars that are springing up to keep visitors refreshed.  One of our favorites: Wine Bistro, located at 3622 N.E. 2nd Ave (Tel: (305) 576-7775).

In case you still thought all the cool attractions and innovative happenings had to be only by the beach, think yet again.  The latest location to prove this wrong is Co-op Miami – an industrial space showcasing work by local artists and designers.  The address is mid-town Miami--making it another point of leisure and cultural interest for your downtown agenda or getaway from the high-rise world of office towers and business hotels . 

How the art gets into this space: the result of works which have been submitted to a committee, which then selects items for the shop’s gallery.  When you’re ready for refreshment, Co-op Miami is also home to the Art of Food Bar, a café with an equally creative menu of vegan treats such as glutein-free chocolate chip cookies and faux-egg sandwiches.  And there’s more on the menu elsewhere in forms of creative expression: live jazz and poetry club readings take place on the second Saturday of the month.

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Co-op Miami - 3404 North Miami Ave., Miami; Tel: (305) 438-0004 

Billing themselves as "South Florida's Main Gallery", the ArtCenter/South Florida is an inviting warren of studios that serve as home to upcoming and established artists alike who draw inspriation from roots around the globe along with the South Florida environment.  It's all located in a sprawling complex of buildings on the north side of Lincoln Road's pedestrian section, and an interesting diversion from the neighboring long rows of Italian restaurants and designer shops.  It's also a dynamic hub for various activities in addition to the artists at work or displaying in their studios - many of whom you can stop in to visit while you explore the building.  

Aside from browsing the individual art studios, there are ongoing lectures series throughout the year plus of course, visiting exhibitons on display.  The Art & Wine lecture events encompass global topics and issues in art that are accessible for anyone with a lively interest in art movements and individual artists.  Lectures are held on Fridays from 7 – 9 pm, $20 per person. The discounted price for registering for the entire 2008 Art & Members gain entrance to the lectures for $15.  A listing for this year reveals the range as follows:

Lecture 1, June 11
Frida Kahlo/ Painting a Tortured Life
Frida Kahlo depicted the indigenous culture of Mexico in a style combining Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. She was married to Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Her self-portraits, often expressed her physical pain and suffering.

Lecture 2, August 8
Paris/ City of Art
In Paris, the boundaries of art have regularly been pushed back. Thus, it is not by chance that Paris, in the first half of the twentieth century, is where modern art originated.

Lecture 3, September 26
Bauhaus/ House of Building
The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents and had a profound influence on art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography.

Lecture 4, October 24
Mouton Rothschild/ The Art of the Label
To celebrate the allied victory in 1945, Baron Philippe de Rothschild decided to enrich the wine label with a work of art. This became a tradition and every year, a different artist was chosen to produce the art for that years’ label.

Lecture 5, November 14
The Performing Arts/ A Visual Drama
Throughout the history of the performing arts, visual artists have engaged in a dialogue, creating set designs for the theater, opera and dance.

Lecture 6, December 12
Surreal Things/ Surrealism and Design
Surrealism is one of the most influential avant-garde art movement of the twentieth century. The term was first coined by the art critic and poet Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917.

Along with all that, you get to meet fellow art-loving travelers to Miami, residents and many in the local arts scene.  The current exhibit on display through July 14 is called "Pragmatic Terrain", a collaboration by artists Julie Wills and Katie Lewis, which they describe as "A two-person exhibit featuring works that acknowledge the body as a physical terrain onto which various social, psychological, medical, sexual, and exploratory practices are mapped."

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ArtCenter/South Florida - 800 Lincoln Rd., Miami; Tel: (305) 674-8278 

While you'll touch on many riffs and flavors of Latin America throughout Miami, and find the Cuban influence present in many spheres of life throughout the city, you really have to make contact with the center of Little Havana itself by stopping off on Calle Ocho.  Yes, that's Eighth Street, and you'll find it easily enough on any map of the city if you search down south of the river and the area marked as Jose Marti Park. 

 A few highlights to include on even the briefest visits:

Maximo Gomez Park - more casually known as Domino Park, for the obvious reason that you'll usually find it occupied by generatiions of Latino gentlemen, immersed in games of dominoes and the greater intricacies of faraway politics.  801 S.W. 15th Ave., at S.W. Eighth Street.

La Casa de las Guayaberas - ever wonder where and how you could acquire one of those authentic hand-tailored, pleated Caribbean shirts for men?  Or a lady's classic guayabera dresss?  Stop in at the La Casa de Las Guayaberas for the finest and most extensive selection amongst the crowded racks.  Tel: (305) 266-9683

Versailles - a landmark in its own right, this restaurant has the most wide-ranging Cuban menu.  While the choices are all tempting, don't be surprised if you find yourself already full by the time you consume a main entree like the Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken, and a side order of platanos.  The take-out window is especially popular if you have no time for sit-down, take a little piece of Old Havana home to our own table from here. 3665 S.W. Eighth St.; Tel: (305) 444-0240 

Calle Ocho Festival - if you're ever in town in March, this annual event brings it all together in a celebration of Hispanic culture spanning 23 city blocks.