Chelsea, El Anatsui, and the Highline
My friend Pat and I spent a day visiting art galleries in Chelsea and walking the High Line. El Anatsui, born in Ghana and now living in Nigeria, creates enormous sculptures using copper wire and bottle caps/pieces of aluminum from cans and bottles.
Here is an example of one of the massive sculptures in the exhibit Pot of Wisdom which ended on January 19th. It is next moving to the Bass Center in Miami and the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa. A second exhibit is opening in February at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
A detail:
But he also has an outdoor installation, made of rusted metal and gorgeous reflective tiles, over the entire side of a building along the Highline, This will hang for a year. Here are my photos, taken from the Highline - between 21st and 22nd St. Also look at the water towers which appear everywhere along the NYC skyline.
I love the way the clouds are reflected on the sculpture making it hard to see the dividing line with the real sky.
The Highline is an abandoned elevated railroad track in lower Manhattan. It is slowly being converted into a wonderful, popular public park.
We walked North along the newest section (extending the walkway to 30th St.) and found wonderful sights: the top of the Empire State building, great graffiti art, and an apartment occupant, whose window is feet away from the edge of the High Line.
This image appears to be part of the window surface - humorously put there to keep Highline pedestrians from becoming voyeurs.
There was a great pair of water towers right next to the sculpture and I painted them in my sketchbook, from my photo, to remember the day.
Comments
What a wonderful city you live in, and you capture it's diversity, culture, whimsy, and beauty so well! nancy
Posted by: Nancy | January 20, 2013 2:34 PM
I love those water towers. Great photos!
Posted by: Linda T | January 21, 2013 12:25 PM
You get to see so many interesting things...not jealous at all! (Thanks for sharing)
Posted by: cathy holtom | January 21, 2013 3:35 PM
Again, thanks for a mini tour of your city. This is one of the first times that I have to agree that the graffiti art is outstanding!
Posted by: Sandra Torguson | January 21, 2013 8:18 PM
Love these photos :D And then there's the drawing in the end, love the angle, love the colors!
Posted by: Alex Tan | January 22, 2013 8:33 AM
I so wish I could come along on your New York art adventures. You see the most amazing images and it feels like being home (I grew up in Philly.) Thanks for sharing them.
Posted by: Cheryl Razmus | January 27, 2013 11:12 AM