USES OF (AMERICAN) ENGLISH
• There is an Open Homes and Gardens w/e coming up which sadly we are missing. The headline in the paper was, “Homes and Gardens, Open For Gawking”. That’s me sussed.
• Yesterday we were offered a bowl of ‘heirloom tomato soup’.
• Overheard, father to little child, “No, you had white flour for breakfast; you can’t have any more.”
AND GAWKING IN GALLERIES
We discovered that the galleries that line the 20+ W. streets in Chelsea are open for Private Views on Thursday nights, often with the artists present and usually with wine and partying a go-go. Never ones to miss a party we arrived late afternoon as we wanted first to see the Sophie Calle exhibition. Men beware! If you want to dump your conceptual artist lover be very, very careful. Calle’s ex lover sent her an email explaining that he didn’t want to see her any more and ended, Take care of yourself. Cue for an exhibition. Hell hath no fury like an artist scorned. She sent the email to 107 women (amongst them an anthropologist, psychologist, dancer, criminologist, teenager, clairvoyant) for their reactions. Their responses were displayed in films, photographs and textual analysis. This exhibition warranted much time and attention. I needed and wanted to spend hours there. The woman who danced her response made me laugh; also the one who said that he was obviously a man who would prefer jazz to rock. A translator discussed each phrase used in the email. “Take care of yourself” – big mistake.
It was a witty, moving, intriguing exhibition. I bet the ex-lover wished he’d phoned her instead of emailing.
People were gathering in the other galleries so we followed them. The dilemma was whether to watch the visitors or the art – the arty, party folk won in several exhibitions. The huge industrial gallery spaces were also visually compelling. In one gallery we were drawn by all three. Chuck Close, the artist was seated in his wheelchair high above the crowds. A host of angels/beautiful women were encircling him. He was obviously revered but I’m ashamed to say we didn’t know of him though I recognised his big portraits – one of Clinton. Later Alastair Sooke told me that he’d interviewed him for the Telegraph so I read his interview on line.
We queued for ages at Spice Market for dinner afterwards. Food and gawking value worth the wait.
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