New York City struggles with public art
Upon the announcement of the Dublin Portal, a live outdoor video feed connecting Ireland and NYC on May 8, the reaction from eight million New Yorkers was almost unanimous:
“Uh oh!”
The anticipation of chaos was palpable because everyone knew that introducing a barely-monitored, 24/7 Zoom call in the heart of Manhattan would lead to utter pandemonium.
And chaos it was.
Who could forget the incident last week when OnlyFans model Ava Louise boldly approached the screen, flashing her breasts to the Irish viewers and later claiming that she wanted the people of Dublin to see two “New York, homegrown potatoes”?
Now, that’s what you call a display of class.
Not to be outdone, another individual on the Ireland side decided to show a video clip of the 9/11 attacks. What valuable cross-cultural connections these are!
All this inappropriate behavior was rude, obnoxious . . . and as predictable as the sunrise.
A golden rule for those organizing public art displays in NYC: If you create it, they will come to deface, defile, and vulgarize it.
We, the barbarians of the five boroughs, simply cannot help ourselves.
In NYC, even a subway poster promoting a Broadway show can’t hang peacefully without someone drawing a mustache on the leading lady first.
So why should we treat Banksy any differently?
Back in 2013, when the controversial British graffiti artist stenciled a beaver on an East New York wall as part of a month-long “residency,” vandals quickly spray-painted over it with the message “we don’t need more rats!”
I may agree with the sentiment, but the vandals got the wrong mammal.
Another daring individual attempted to steal the valuable artwork using a hammer and chisel.
This incident occurred just four days after a separate Banksy work in Red Hook was vandalized.
Even a mural in honor of Flaco, the escaped Central Park Zoo owl whom New Yorkers rallied behind, was defaced with yellow-green spray paint shortly after artist Calico Arevalo created it in February. Sadly, even fallen Flaco wasn’t safe from vandalism.
Graffiti is inherently vulnerable. But what about an intricate metallic architectural piece in a high-end new neighborhood filled with police and security guards?
That’s the Vessel in Hudson Yards, described on its website as an “interactive artwork” and a “soaring new landmark.”
I personally refer to it as a “suicide pine cone.”
By 2021, three individuals had tragically taken their lives from the 16-story structure. Instead of being dismantled, it is currently closed for the installation of steel mesh for safety measures. Tourists will be able to visit the controversial structure later this year.
One of the creators of the now-closed Dublin Portal shared with the New York Times his hope that the display would be self-monitored by friendly, conscientious New Yorkers.
Ha! The obscene acts I witness daily in the East Village are unimaginable, let alone preventable. If millions in this city would actively “self-monitor,” we would be a crime-free utopia.
Alas.
So, take it from the giant hot dog statue currently in Times Square: If you want your artwork to remain unscathed in NYC, enclose it with barriers and elevate it off the ground.
Even then, I’d still be worried if I were that wiener.
