A place to indulge my narcissism... and write stuff...

New York City – February 25-27, 2005

So I wonder, during a NYC weekend that included the Gates and Strawberry Fields in Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, dinner at Sparks Steak House and The Lion King on Broadway, how come shopping was the highlight of the trip for Megan? So I asked. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Hey, you love watching football. Explain that.”

The Gates were worth seeing in person, but my overall impression is Central Park didn’t need them to provide a lifting of spirits. Its complexion needs no makeup. Still, based on the many bright faces contrasting rosy cheeks with waving saffron, the Gates did just that. Or maybe they just helped New Yorkers to not think about the Yankees… Of course there were many booths set up hawking Gates memorabilia including numbered conceptual drawings of the Gates by Christo. As art, I think the drawings are more aesthetically pleasing than the gates were themselves.

What is art, anyway?

At the Whitney Museum of American Art, that question jumped at me from a series of crayon scribbles by Cy Twombley. On the other hand, the boundless creativity of Tim Hutchinson astonished me. Drawings, paintings, sculptures from old tires, mechanical contraptions amplifying the work… See it if you can. There was also a stunning video art exhibit by Bill Viola called Five Angels for the Millennium. In a darkened room, five screens flicker with images of shrouded human forms entering and exiting water, backwards and forwards, in ultra slow motion. The Whitney web site reads, “Viola creates projective narrative environments that explore the nature and consciousness and universal human experiences such as birth and death. The artist’s subject matter is rooted in the history of Western and Eastern art, as well as in such spiritual traditions as Sufism and Zen Buddhism.” I felt the irony of the exhibit crushing my very soul, for Megan had earlier bought a little Buddha statue from a street vendor. He wanted $15. He got $11. It was probably manufactured in China for 14 cents.

1 Comment

  1. David J. Klug

    There is a woman in Chicago that has an art collection of rock star’s penis molds. She has hundreds, from Hendrix to Jon Langford. Interesting…

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