I have many regrets about dropping off the radar with eastvillageidiot over the winter and spring. I missed the chance to INSIST that you march over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the film installation Street. It is an amazingly cool work by artist James Nares capturing the spirit of the real people of New York City. Read more:
Street, a new video by the British-born artist James Nares, forms the centerpiece of this exhibition. Over the course of a week in September 2011, Nares—a New Yorker since 1974—recorded sixteen hours of footage of people on the streets of Manhattan from a moving car using a high-definition camera usually used to record fast-moving subjects such as speeding bullets and hummingbirds. He then greatly slowed his source material, editing down the results to one hour of steady, continuous motion and scoring it with music for twelve-string guitar composed and performed by his friend Thurston Moore, co-founder of Sonic Youth.
Originally, I took Ben because he was searching for an exhibit in NY that he could review for his art class. The one hour experience overwhelmed both of us. It's been a while since I've fallen back in love with the City. The fluid choreography of every day life on its streets hit such a deep chord in me. It felt like coming home. The colors and textures of each neighborhood were so vivid from the lush fruit sold outside bodegas uptown to the polished brass of midtown. Check out a clip:
http://jamesnares.com/index.cfm/film-video/street/
