The Art of Others

Summer has me in its grip, an indolent haze has descended. I have not been very productive. But I have come across two outdoor sculptures that were so beautiful, I thought I could share them.

Social Dress New Orleans - 730 days after

Takashi Horisaki covered a house in New Orleans with latex mixed with paint and has hung the resulting imprint up in Socrates park. The house was about to be demolished. There was a good deal of suspense while he was working with the Army Corps of Engineers revving the bulldozers as he waited for the latex to set. The whole story is on his blog

http://socialdress-neworleans.blogspot.com/


Here are some pictures

Defunct, Cojoined - Madison Square Park

Roxy Paine is such an incredible artist. I have seen his work at the James Cohan gallery (which is one of my favorite galleries in the city, such fine art, so inviting). I had seen the trees from a distance, glinting among the living ones. When I finally had time to see them up close, they took my breath away. The day I came back to photograph them, there was a concert for children. The lawn was gated off and there was an army of designer strollers all over the park.


The children were really enjoying the cojoined trees so I didn't mind that I couldn't get up close to the trunks.

Here is a link to Roxy Paine at James Cohan

http://www.jamescohan.com/artists/roxy-paine/

Some pictures of Cojoined


And some pictures of Defunct

I didn't see Erratic, a shiny boulder. It was probably obscured by strollers.

Weeds

I can't believe August is here and the weeds are huge.



This mass of weeds seemed to spring suddenly from an empty tree pit. I am rather fond of weeds, I admire their determination to grow almost anywhere.

There is an empty lot that has been on my mind recently.



It's the tree that draws me. That beautiful dancing tree, spreading its branches over the fence, I hope it doesn't grow into the spikes. I love the square of green in the middle of the block.

I am so afraid it will become this,


like so many weedy lots before it.

Almost Aligned

Twice a year the sun sets aligned with east-west streets of Manhattan. It is called Manhattanhenge, which I guess describes it well, but I wish there were a less druidic, more New York kind of term. I missed the May alignment and planned to capture it last Friday. I watched all day as the clouds slowly gathered, pretty much obscuring the sun by sunset. So I went out on Saturday.



Things looked promising as I started out at Houston Street, with the sun falling on both sides of the street. But on the numbered streets, it was just an ordinary summer sunset. Even 14th Street had golden sun on one side and shadow on the other. I was surprised that the sun had shifted so much in one day. The light was really pretty so I decided to continue taking pictures.



This was from Union Square Park.

The just before sunset, it all came together, just a little off center.



I scrambled to get the picture when three young women pranced into my frame, their arms linked in joyous friendship. They are just visible past the odd trailer thing on the sidewalk. There did seem to be a sort of camaraderie in the air. When I was standing in the street to take a picture, a cab driver waited to turn and did not try to run me down. Things were a little rowdier on 23rd Street.



The shadowy blur on the left was a biker about to careen into me and my tripod. I have to be a little more careful in where I choose to stand next time. In November the alignment occurs at sunrise. Maybe at dawn the traffic will be calmer.

Red and Green Leaves

I love the leaves of this tree, which I found out is a Forest Pansy. Its leaves change color from spring to fall, purples, reds and pinks shot with green or yellow. Right now it is going through a mauve and pale green phase.


The play of sunlight and shade can totally change its colors.