Our intrepid NYC reporter put on her Alexander McQueen claw shoes to run down to the Met last week.

Culture stimulates the economy in Manhattan

The installation of the show was creative: striking, well-done video, a hologram; and his extraordinary, imaginative work. Here's the museum's on-line presentation, if you haven't had a chance to see it:  http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

I was surprised to see some pieces that I could envision wearing... not all of his work was "hazardous."   Mostly, I was impressed by the form, the composition, if the pieces were paintings, and the crafts(wo)manship, exquisite handwork and fantastic / fantasy material. A dress composed entirely of real and cloth flowers really impressed me.

Here are a couple photos attesting to the popularity of this show:  http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2011/aug/05/mcqueen-exhibit/

I don't recall ever "jumping" to the head of such a wide and long line. I feared that there would even be a line at the entrance to the show. And, regretted that I hadn't taken advantage of the members-only option of access one hour before the museum opened at 9:30 AM. Fortunately, I was whisked in with a nod. I spoke with a guard, who reassured me that it's always packed and said that the demand for membership had been so great that staff were working daily until mid-night to process all the paper work. According to the WNYC link above: "More than 20,000 people have become members since the show opened, representing a nearly 15 percent increase in the museum's membership"

The crush in the exhibit was unwieldy, not for the claustrophobic. As I left the building, via a side exit from the parking lot, the line inside the museum on the second floor went the length of the museum on its south (shorter) side, then wended it's way north around the balcony surrounding the great hall, the main entrance to the building. I looked down on the great hall, which was swarming with people getting buttons to have the privilege to pass through the inner portals to the collection. Outside, a separate line went down the steps from the main entrance to the curb. The museum had been open to the general public for one hour.

The NYT had this story this am

By ERIC WILSON

More than 23,000 people purchased memberships to the museum during the exhibition, allowing them to skip the line, and 17,000 people bought $50 tickets to see it over the last eight Mondays, when the museum is normally closed. The museum also sold more than 100,000 copies of the related catalog.

Art as an aid to a slowed economy is a specialty of Williams Art Mafioso Tom Krens with MassMoCA and the Guggenheim Bilbao.