By Divya Watal
Now that the time of plastic poles and saffron sails has passed, the gates have flung open to welcome a new artistic and architectural marvel: a museum made of shipping crates, with flying pachyderms housed in it.
The Nomadic Museum, a 45,000-sq.-ft. space on Pier 54 across from the Meatpacking District, opened its doors to the public last Saturday. The museum, made entirely of steel shipping containers and recycled tubes, will display artist Gregory Colbert’s exhibit, “Ashes and Snow” — with a preponderance of surreal photographs of elephants — until June 6. The exhibit is part of a novel wave of artistic creation that blends external structures with internal artwork.
“This beats Christo,” he added.
Of course, the comparison between Christo’s “Gates” and “Ashes and Snow” was inevitably made. After all, the river of saffron that ran through Central Park until a week ago is still fresh on the minds of New Yorkers. An essential element in the aesthetic perception of “The Gates,” like Colbert’s “Ashes and Snow,” was the character of the surrounding area.
Some visitors were, however, confounded by the meaning of Colbert’s images, even though they appreciated the unity of the museum’s structure and the art inside.
“It’s definitely an amazing presentation — the atmosphere, the music is great, but we’re undecided about the artwork,” said Ted Gividotti, an Uptown resident, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Sarah. After paying an admission price of $12, they were perhaps not too happy about their ensuing confusion. The price is pay-as-you wish every Tuesday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. The museum’s hours are 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Tues. – Thurs., 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. and noon – 5 p.m. Sun.
The Nomadic Museum occupies space managed by the Hudson River Park Trust, a joint state-city agency responsible for building and operating the park. The museum has rented the pier for three months and is paying $300,000 for it, according to Chris Martin, the Trust’s spokesperson. Martin told The Villager last month that there had been no objections from the community to this artistic addition to the Meatpacking District.
Al Butzel, president of Friends of Hudson River Park, a non-profit advocate of the park, said since the museum is temporary, he did not have concerns about charging admission to a pier.
“It was the right thing to do at this particular time. No one was using the pier,” he said. Future events, however, will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, he added.
The Nomadic Museum and Colbert may have been fortunate in getting this ostensibly perfect artistic space — simply because it is winter time, and the pier was empty. It remains to be seen whether the shipping-crate museum is capable of coupling with another artist’s mood, or whether an entirely new structure will be erected in its stead. Or, perhaps New Yorkers will have recovered from their Christo-esque, art-architecture-combo fascination by then.
