This morning I didn’t wake up until 8:30am and got a bit of a shock. I jumped out of bed, got ready and asked Ash if she wanted to go on the Staten Island Ferry with me. Unfortunately, she has been really sick (stomach bug) and was going to try and get better.
I had a bit of a funny time with the trains. I got on the 1, then tried for the 3 express at 96th, before realising that it doesn’t go to South Ferry and I had to change back to the 1 again! I eventually arrived and had a half hour wait for the ferry to dock. It was great to sit and people watch. I found that the people down that end of the island are different to those at the top. There were a lot of families, couples and tourists.
Once aboard, I moved around a lot to get different views looking back at Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. I also got my first view of the Statue of Liberty. It was a great shot too. She faces the boat and we go within about 600m (?) of her. I have a pretty dodgy camera, but I still got some good shots.
You have to disembark at the other end before you can get back on and return to Manhattan. One of the best things I have found about the travel here is that there is nearly always some sort of music being produced. New York really is an artist’s city, as mentioned yesterday.
I decided on the train back to try and find Century 21 for a bit of a reconnaissance mission. However, as I have been travelling without a map of anything or any addresses, your guess is as good as mine as to where it is... I got off at Canal St (I know it’s in lower Manhattan) and had a wander. I never did find Century 21, but plenty of other incredible moments. I think that’s what I have discovered so far. This trip isn’t about the things I’m doing or seeing, but more about the moments that I have found myself in.
I ended up walking through Chinatown and Little Italy, all with their different smells, vibes and people. And, of course, tourists. When I decided that my time was up and I should be getting back, I found a subway map from a stand (still haven’t used it) and a little Chinese bakery where I got a roast pork bun (mmmmm) and coke. I actually wanted water, but the coke was in an aluminium bottle and looked cool. Advertising works...
Eventually, when I got back to the hostel to get Ash and my books, Ash still wasn’t feeling better and didn’t want to risk it and have a longer recovery. I took off straight away and found most people outside the Guggenheim. The Crosstown bus was not easy to find mind you. I don’t know why everyone in movies and TV shows go on about the buses and how gross they are. It was totally fine, like any other bus. Actually, probably better than some of the buses I’ve been on!
The Guggenheim was, in a word, awesome. I was full of awe. Not being a Visual Art student or having to ‘appreciate’ art before, I was a bit nervous going in. However, it’s just like any art form, there to be read, made meaning out of, and enjoyed. I did all three. I found that the conversations we had were really beneficial for everyone, even if they weren’t verbally participating. I have found that I really enjoy discussing the art and hearing other people’s opinions and takes on the art works. Not knowing who Maurizio Cattelan was/is I didn’t really know what to expect. His work “All” was an installation hanging from the centre of the Guggenheim’s ceiling. It is a retrospective of his art work. My first impressions was “someone please explain” and “what a bitch to construct and put together!” When I tried to make meaning I came up with Religion and Racial. As it turns out, both were aspects included in his work – the Pope and effigies, Hitler and the symbolic ‘hail’ and the English wall where it displayed all of England’s losses (huzzah!).
Then hanging of the art pieces in no discernible order suggests he views his career in art as a mess. It could also represent hanging his laundry out to dry. Again, more readings include the handing is symbolic of death (which is evident in some of the art pieces) and that we are all puppets, our strings are pulled by others and our lives/art controlled – the artist as powerless.
One of the first thoughts I had when viewing and discussing the work was that artists seem, to me, to always be trying to ‘fit in’ and prove themselves. Even when they have “made it”, like Cattelan, they don’t seem to appreciate what they have. I will discuss this more later as this idea develops as I learn more about Cattelan and his work.
When viewing the piece of Pinocchio, we are again reminded of having our strings pulled, and Mark suggests that his is Cattelan himself, a self portrait. He seems bound to the art world and the art to him. He obviously feels the desire to point out his own flaws and feels a fraud. This is represented in multiple pieces, such as the one where he is peeping above the ground flaw in what was an exhibition of some of the Masters work. He feels the need to hide and look from afar, never daring or feeling adequate enough to enter. This self deprecating view is also evident in the giant elephant that is covered in a towel. The startled eyes of the elephant paired with the well known saying “the elephant in the room” lends itself to the reading that Cattelan never felt comfortable with the attention given to him and felt like the elephant in the room that was surely to be discovered. Wanting to be found out, but also afraid of the consequences. The taboo.
One of the first discussions we had as a group was about the art being hung up and not presented as usual, Emily suggested that this art work uses the wasted space and this, again, represents the artists own feelings of only being useful in a wasted space. I made the point that, by being hung in this ‘wasted space’ he was now the centre point of the Guggenheim and so he gives his work more attention. Quite a conundrum, and incredibly ironic.
A major point that I can not overlook when discussing the art, is that a lot of it is also about consumerism. He goes back to what Alex spoke of yesterday. That rich people by art and it’s a fact, not to be ignored. Western civilisation is a consumerist one and that is not to be ignored. Cattelan seems to fight the need for consumerism but is also a product of it. He recognises this in his depiction of dogs and the picture of him rolled on his back like a dog. It is a submission to the cycle and a recognition that his art might not (or could not) be sustained without commissions and people buying his art. He needs the consumers. The mouse walking the tight rope depicts this too. The balance of needing to create art and have it validated. It is the co-dependency of the art maker and the art buyer.
Someone pointed out that the art seems to be more of a stream of consciousness and a journey through the process, which allows us as viewers to more fully get the whole picture. We felt more connected to this artwork when displayed in this way than other collections where you move from one painting to the next.
I also spoke with Emily and Tess when moving around the gallery. I questioned them on their art practice and how they like to work. Tess showed me her latest work where she had picked up a rock, painted it gold and photographed it then displayed it multiple times. She says she just did it, she is still finding out why and that what we had seen today was making her realise how what she did is a bit like Cattelan. In my words, making something ordinary, unordinary. Mutton dressed as lamb, so to speak. Emily said that she worked across all disciplines and that she would use whatever was the best way to communicate what it was she wanted to communicate. She said she saw things in her head and would work towards it. I said that that’s how I work. I will read a script and the whole thing plays in my head, so when I get to directing, I already know where they move, how they say it, etc. I have found the process of artists the most fascinating thing so far. I am really interested in it and wonder if anyone has done a study yet on the processes or artists across a range of disciplines and how it works.
When wandering back down the Guggenheim, I went through the Kandinsky exhibitions. I actually didn’t mind it. I don’t usually find coloured works my favourites, but I felt that they were strong and direct. I could appreciate that. I also really liked the Monochrome room. There was something peaceful about it and I was able to sit and enjoy it.
It was raining as I left the Guggenheim and I walked to 97th to get the bus back to the 96th St station. It was a good walk in the drizzle and I felt totally at ease. People must have thought I was crazy, dawdling through the rain with a smile. Crazy Australian. I also ended up walking back from the 96th St bus stop rather than catching the train. The only thing that annoyed me was that the lift in the hostel still doesn’t work and I’m on the third floor. I have been walking for a good 9 hours today and I could have used a lift! I hope they get it back up and running, I don’t want to injure my knee L It’s all been well, so far, and I can’t wait for tomorrow!
We might be going to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 tonight at the movies, it depends if the girls come back to the room or not. Is till have to organise dinner for myself.
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