I've always wondered at the March scheduling of the New York art fairs, because they would work so much better in April, a New York month which is hardly, pace T.S. Eliot, "the cruelest," but a harbinger of hope, however delusionary, for all, especially men of a certain age like myself.
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Hence, as previously reported, I found myself holding court at a large table in the middle of the Henri Cartier-Bresson retro, when who should approach me but the young and talented Cooper Union alumni, twins Trevor and Ryan Oakes, who had with them a drawing. The drawing is a sliced-up rendering of the new Cooper Union architectural center, which the twins prepared as a gift for CU's retiring president.
"Let's spread it out on MoMA's table and have an instant exhibition," I postulated. The reliable Oakes did just that, and, for half an hour, I invited folks over to view it, and they had an instant show at MoMA. And they say I can't do performance art?
Another pleasure was visiting my old pal Cynthia Rowley, as she unveiled her new line of reasonably priced surfwear, in partnership with Roxy, at Barney's Wooster Street outlet. The duds owe a lot to Haim Steinbach's "Black Paintings" and Ad Reinhardt. They are crisp and geometrical and I bought a gray pullover as a wedding present for a friend.
But the biggest treat of all was a visit from Oregon painter, perceptive blogger and KBOO-FM radio host Eva Lake, on her first trip to New York in five years. The night was warm and so was the luscious gorgonzola at the Spotted Pig on West 11th Street. With Easter passed, my sins were forgotten and pleasure reigned. The secret of art, even in the art world, is to create it yourself!
CHARLIE FINCH is co-author of Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula (Smart Art Press).
