Better on Tibetan border
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
Perhaps a better location for Ai Weiwei’s work instead of New York City — which is about the most refugee- and immigrant-welcoming city in the U.S.A. — would be on the Chinese border with North Korea or the Chinese-occupied Tibet border with India.
This installation in Washington Square Park is only the first one of many, and it definitely does not appear to be inspiring people’s willingness to help refugees. In fact, it seems to be doing just the opposite. I predict that this massive, invasive art project will anger people all over the city.
Look, Ai Weiwei did this in New York because he got paid, and really does anyone believe this is going to help refugees?
He should have used this grant to do something artistic that would not cause people to say, “Who asked for this?” instead of thinking about the plight of refugees. He should have done something that could have raised funds to actually help refugees instead of this self-promotional, invasive takeover of public space.
John Penley
Another way(way)
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
It would have made more of a statement and an impact if this had been erected at the park’s southern entrance where it would have stood out as a solitary focus. Now there is a sourness to it original purpose as a result of its having invaded a traditional holiday celebration.
Joe Preston
On that note…
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
Where’s the piano player going to play?
Susan Kramer
Artistic imposition
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
Thank you, Sharon, for this very thoughtful analysis of the community’s response to the art which has been imposed upon it.
Harvey Osgood
How Ai-ronic
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
Placing a strident political-message-masquerading-as-art-installment in an undemocratic appropriation against the will of the community is an irony that seems to be lost on the artist and his backers.
A. S. Evans
Why not help artists?
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
Not only is Ai Weiwei occupying the arch, he is commanding 300 sites around the city! Seems like if he were really interested in democracy, he would share the lucrative Public Art Fund funds with 299 resident starving artists.
The piece is as ugly and monolithic as the “prison bunker” sculpture that occupied Petrosino Park several years ago until the park was occupied by Citi Bike.
Carl Rosenstein
Missing the point
To The Editor:
Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5):
I entirely agree with the opinion expressed in this article. The point of “good fences make good neighbors” is that we should not impose ourselves and our ideas on others, which is what has taken place here.
Amedeo Chenier
Try baby trees
To The Editor:
Re “Arch artwork goes up in 2 days, to last 4 months” (news article, Oct. 5):
Instead of one big tree, you could put baby Christmas trees in Ai Weiwei’s “cage” under the arch to celebrate the annual tree and choral celebration. Or maybe he could design an artistic Christmas tree in the cage as a bonus to his public art. And maybe there could be Christmas trees surrounding the cage on its outside to hide the “fences.”
Susan L. Yung
Cull, don’t clear-cut
To The Editor:
Re “Weeds whacked” (Scoopy’s Notebook, Oct. 5):
Wiping out all the vegetation to get rid of a few poisonous weeds is a highway engineer’s approach to managing the environment.
If Adrian Benepe could see the weeds, so could a trained horticulturalist, who should have culled the dangerous vegetation while saving the rest. New York State Department of Transportation’s stewardship of the Route 9A corridor has been a disaster. It’s time to get qualified staff to manage the green buffer on the highway. It reduces noise, absorbs particulates, reduces glare, absorbs storm water and should be managed better. Safer highway and better environment — a win-win.
Tom Fox
Say it, don’t spray it
To The Editor:
Re “Weeds whacked” (Scoopy’s Notebook, Oct. 5):
Describing Adrian Benepe as the “Nontoxic Avenger” is absurd. While he was Parks commissioner, the Parks Department routinely and needlessly sprayed poison on New York City parkland without any warnings to people and without any efforts to protect wildlife.
I’ve personally witnessed Parks employees spraying poison right next to parkgoers, including small children and the elderly. This was done to save money on weeding, not to protect anyone’s health.
Benepe garnering praise for having some toxic plants removed (that no one was likely to eat) along the Hudson River bikeway yet also deliberately exposing millions of people to poisonous pesticides is emblematic of his entire tenure as Parks commissioner.
Robert Lederman
Lederman is president, A.R.T.I.S.T.
Bravo to businesses!
To The Editor:
Re “Captain gets Amazon truck off blast block; Look out on Lafayette!” (news article, Oct. 5):
Bravo to all these independent business owners! Sometimes you can fight the corporate giants and win!
Janet Wolfe
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