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Andrey Grebenetsky
IDC1001H Cultural Passport Assignment on the Madison Square Park Tree Huts (blog part of assignment)
If you’ve ever lived in New York City, you’ve been guilty of existing in an autonomous form. This concept has been done to death in our visual diaries documenting the New York City Waterfalls but it is perfect for my experience with Tadashi Kawamata’s Tree Huts in Madison Square Park.
I came to Madison Square Park expecting to see an exhibit in the park, running on autopilot just like those types of metropolitans I try not to be like. When something out of the ordinary happens, in this case the lack of any exhibit with organized people in the park, I suddenly snap out of autopilot.
“I must be in the wrong place,” I thought, “but I may as well relax and enjoy the park.” The remarkable happened as I was sitting on a bench, looking up with my eyes closed, enjoying the relaxation the park brings. My eyes opened, both literally and metaphorically.
There they were in all of their simple beauty. Tree Huts up in the tall trees of the park. What better surprise than one of the pleasant variety? I began taking photos of the tree huts without realizing what I have done.
I may have come to the park alone, but I was far from alone. Once again, it is the people you share the experience with that provide meaning. I was far from the only one who did not notice the tree huts at first. My photo taking drew attention to me. “What is he taking photos of,” people wondered. People around me began to look up and discover the art that was dangling right above their heads. Conversations within earshot changed subject and pleasant looks of surprise were given. Without at first realizing it, I had guided the people in the park to stop running on autopilot, and that was more special than the art itself.
Creative View: A Stroll Through the MET
Friend: “Look, they’re naked! And headless!” *We both walk over*
Me: *Haha* “Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Let’s see what the caption says…”
Friend: “Wow it looks like these three girlies were symbols of beauty, mirth [happiness], and abundance.”
Me: “To be honest, I can see why. And you can’t beat the fact that they were Aphrodite’s handmaidens, you know what that means.” *Nudge, nudge*
Friend: *Haha* “I really like this one, I think I’ll use this sculpture for my assignment.”
Me: “Mmm, sounds good, but I’ll pass on this particular one!”
As childish and immature as it may sound, one really amusing, silly, bit of conversation that I had during my visit to the MET with my friend and her English class happened at the marble statue of The Three Graces, in the Greco-Roman gallery. As the dialogue suggests, the statue is of three unclothed headless women linked in a dance pose. It was fun to let loose while we could and just enjoy the sculpture in a simpleminded way, as I believe people centuries ago may have done. I think the statue of the girls really does what the plaque says, that is, “[t]hey bestow what is most pleasurable and beneficent in nature and society; fertility and growth, beauty in the arts, harmonious reciprocity between men.” And as it turns out, I didn’t actually pass on that statue after all.
When you reside in New York City, you tend to lose your soul. You become self-centered; a blank face in the crowd. Every morning, lunch hour and evening, you autonomously do what you have been conditioned to do by the crowd. Go to school or work, go to lunch, and go home. If you’re observant, you might even notice the majestic city you are a part of. But there is something many of us forget. My experience with Olafur’s Eliasson’s waterfalls was significant beyond his artwork or even the city. I was confined on a boat with other people. Living, breathing people. The same people we nonchalantly shove past or walk into because we’re too busy being mindless drones on the street. On that boat, the city and waterfalls dulled out, and the people shone through. We are the city. Eliasson reminded me that our life experiences are not meant to be ours alone. They are meant to be shared.
Our shared experience is the sum of it’s parts. The singular presence of every person in our class and on the boat contributed to both our individual perception and our group perception. Our development as individuals could be likened to human puzzles. Each of us is our own puzzle and the pieces to that puzzle are the people who influence us. Pieces come in all shapes and sizes, just like if a barrel is filled with rocks, pebbles, and sand. The rocks, our closest family members and friends are our foundation but they leave holes in our “barrel.” The pebbles are everybody else we encounter in life ranging from acquaintances to close friends to rivals. The sand fills up the remainder of the space in our barrels and represents our experiences.
Without the rocks and pebbles, we are only shells of our true selves.
By: Jasper Cunneen
When you live in New York City, you sometimes get lost in the endless urban landscape that spans out in every direction. You are always looking straight in front of you, robotically focused on your next destination. However it seldom happens that one admires what is above them, and what is below them. My experience with Olafur Eliasson’s waterfalls wasn’t completely about the actual waterfalls. I was amazed at what you could see once you turned your attention away from the buildings and lights that define the city. I continually found myself looking up at the sky or down at what was beneath me. On the boat, I let my eyes wander. They led me to the nighttime water that was giving off a beautiful reflection created by the vast city lights. The sky and the floor provided a beautiful frame for Eliasson’s works of art.
If you find that you’re rushing through life and continually looking straight ahead, then take the time to stop and look up at the sky or down at the whatever is beneath you. And then slowly bring allow your sight to level out once again.
Visual Diary
The new waterfalls that were created in New York City by Olafur Eliasson was actually a nice addition to the already captivating lights and buildings of the city in my opinion. I think that Eliasson did a good job in capturing the beauty of the lights of the buildings with a sky-high waterfall structure of his own. The first image I have is of the city, in which you can see the brightness of even at night. You can see that even without the waterfalls, the view is so magnificent. It is almost impossible for me to be not captivated by the view of the whole city. The next image is Eliasson’s waterfalls. Even though I feel that Eliasson did a poor job in trying to imitate waterfalls that was created by nature, I think that he did a good job in complementing the water and lights with the buildings you see in the background. Some people can say that Eliasson was unsuccessful in trying to create waterfalls you can see out in nature, but I don’t think that was his original goal. I think that Eliasson tried to create a huge work of art that can go well with the city. He is an artist, not an architect. I don’t think people should criticize the structure of these waterfalls but rather look at the big picture of what he really tried to convey.
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