We parked right smack in front of the museum (a luxury) for free. Now that does not happen often. If you are a driver in Manhattan you will soon come to realize that Sundays are the best. The feeling of getting a spot and rolling out like you own the block is the right start for any outing.
Almost the entire museum, which is a new tapering 6 floor glass and steel structure with high ceilings and an airy lobby that invites the street in, is currently dedicated to Chris Burden's "Extreme Measures". His giant sculpture installations easily take up all of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors.
Becoming familiar with Chris Burden's installations is like taking a walk in raw nature someplace new. It's beautiful, but there is always the possibility of danger. He hung a 1 ton cube off a boom carried by a restored Ford pick-up. He balanced an asteroid and a Porsche on a giant scale. He spun a huge wheel attached to a motorcycle's accelerator. He created a "beach" the size of our apartment upon the sands of which microworlds of military scenes play out in the viewer's imagination. For the "actors" and "decor" he used mostly children's toys (robots, soldiers, tanks, all sorts of weaponry, indians, etc) and miniature models of castles, train depots, tepees, houses, ships, towers, corals, plants and a lot more.
He hung a few hundred tiny submarines off the ceiling and provided us with a list of their names- a list that corresponds to a real list of submarines used in American military operations. He made a conical structure out of cement bags. And there is more.
My first reactions to his work was "Wow". The second was careful speechless examination. The third was "Noooooo". For you see, my little girl was feasting her eyes upon the extraordinary visual balancing acts in front of her, but unlike me, she could not stand still. She made quite a few determined fast and almost successful lunges toward the delicate artwork quickly and in panic intercepted by me. As much as I was mesmerized by my surroundings, my motor skills kicked in to the amused gaze (and in some cases annoyed) inspection of the museum guards.
Museum and toddlers! I can tell you something about that. Countless are the cases in which in complete desperation I have promised myself to never bring her again for I can literally feel my hair turn white as I try to navigate and "look" at precious artwork with my little girl in toe, a force that can hardly be contained. Yet I do it again. And I will do it again. It is worth every second because I expose my daughter to that what truly engages me. That what is truly special to New York City. To the reason why I moved here and stayed here. Her behavior, I argue, is a precious reaction to the world of artworks, and had the artist been standing there, I know that he would have seen the pure energy that is a response to the energy of the artwork.
I always feel recharged and inspired after I leave a grand museum exhibition and this time was no exception. The mere witnessing of these powerful pieces gave me so much hope. If others can, so can I. I have to keep trying. I have to keep going with my own work, no matter what, despite the obstacles.
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