Back from New York
I would describe the trip as a success. Not stunning, but good. Solid B. Which, while not an A, is still a good grade. I remember sometime in the mid-70s having to pass an Astronomy course in order to graduate and it was neither As nor Bs that were the objects of my desire.
Anyway, arrived Monday morning. Went straight to old Lehman bldg. Actually didn't go straight to old Lehman building; ducked instead into an Irish bar to go to the bathroom -- which I should have done on the bus, but didn't. Quarter of eleven in the morning and four people are drinking at the bar. I ask very nicely to take a pee and the bartender says no, customers only. Fuck you, I remember thinking. Instead of verbalizing it, however, I ordered a bowl of soup and a virgin bloody mary. At some point I used the BR. Then I went uptown.
For the first time in my six years of doing this stuff I lost an argument with a policeman about where I could or couldn't put my painting. They made me move away from the front door of the building (the exact same spot I stood in when exhibiting The Annotated Fuld) to a spot about half way down the block. Still in front of the building, but not smack in front of it. On one side was a hot dog guy and on the other side was somebody selling antique tin signs with Coke logos (which I know they are making in Queens right now).
So my mojo took a hit. And I started to smell like fried onions.
Additionally, apart from a few intelligent comments on the painting, I don't think I've ever run into as much stupid crap written on one of my paintings in my life. One person wrote about Chicago, the musical. If I see another person write "I love NY" on the fucking painting, I'm gonna freak out.
Once the cop made me move, I considered just grabbing the train downtown to the NYSE. This was vetoed (internally). I figured I needed to be at the scene of the crime for at least one full session to give the painting its authenticity. So I stuck it out, but it was a loathsome experience. The only good part was CNBC sent a camera guy to shoot some footage.
Later that day I went to the Peter McManus Cafe and got the usual quality annotations. Went to a movie (The Arbitrager, or Arbitrage, with Richard Gere. C+)
Tuesday it rained, so I went to a bunch of galleries. Went to a movie (The Master. A-)
Wednesday was beautiful. I set up in my usual NYSE spot; had a lovely time. People had interesting things to say, write or both. Caught the 4:40 train back to Albany.
Remind me to tell you about The Master, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and the guy with the scarred lip. Amazing.
Anyway, arrived Monday morning. Went straight to old Lehman bldg. Actually didn't go straight to old Lehman building; ducked instead into an Irish bar to go to the bathroom -- which I should have done on the bus, but didn't. Quarter of eleven in the morning and four people are drinking at the bar. I ask very nicely to take a pee and the bartender says no, customers only. Fuck you, I remember thinking. Instead of verbalizing it, however, I ordered a bowl of soup and a virgin bloody mary. At some point I used the BR. Then I went uptown.
For the first time in my six years of doing this stuff I lost an argument with a policeman about where I could or couldn't put my painting. They made me move away from the front door of the building (the exact same spot I stood in when exhibiting The Annotated Fuld) to a spot about half way down the block. Still in front of the building, but not smack in front of it. On one side was a hot dog guy and on the other side was somebody selling antique tin signs with Coke logos (which I know they are making in Queens right now).
So my mojo took a hit. And I started to smell like fried onions.
Additionally, apart from a few intelligent comments on the painting, I don't think I've ever run into as much stupid crap written on one of my paintings in my life. One person wrote about Chicago, the musical. If I see another person write "I love NY" on the fucking painting, I'm gonna freak out.
Once the cop made me move, I considered just grabbing the train downtown to the NYSE. This was vetoed (internally). I figured I needed to be at the scene of the crime for at least one full session to give the painting its authenticity. So I stuck it out, but it was a loathsome experience. The only good part was CNBC sent a camera guy to shoot some footage.
Later that day I went to the Peter McManus Cafe and got the usual quality annotations. Went to a movie (The Arbitrager, or Arbitrage, with Richard Gere. C+)
Tuesday it rained, so I went to a bunch of galleries. Went to a movie (The Master. A-)
Wednesday was beautiful. I set up in my usual NYSE spot; had a lovely time. People had interesting things to say, write or both. Caught the 4:40 train back to Albany.
Remind me to tell you about The Master, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and the guy with the scarred lip. Amazing.
posted by Geoffrey at 11:43 AM
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