fine arts
Pulse New York
Be Still Dear Art
By Charles Giuliano - 2008-04-06
 Under a pile of books. |
 A hand stand in a bleeding bucket. |
 A Chuck Close portrait of Kara Walker. |
 A bit of Strum und Drag. |
 In the VIP lounge. |
 Camillo Alvarez of Samson Projects has booked several art fairs this month. |
 Twist and shout. |
 A fresh take on the Sistine Chapel. |
 The young and the restless. |
 The grand old flag. |
 How to be an insider. |
 Nukes and flowers. |
 The view from the VIP lounge. |
 Devorah Sperber is currently showing her Star Trek series at Mass MoCA. |
 Beam us up Scottie. |
Pulse New York
Pier 40
West Side Highway at Houston Street
March 27 through 30
Overall, with some 70 international art dealers, Pulse New York proved to be a bit more edgy than the more established and main stream Armory Show. Originally started by dealers who could not get admitted to the Armory Show the Pulse art fairs are now almost as established. It is now so difficult to get into Pulse that there are ever more spinoffs many in floors of hotels scattered all over town.
Just slightly smaller and more manageable than the huge Armory Show it still took the good part of a day to see everything that Pulse had to offer. Flashing a press card we even found our way into the VIP lounge for complimentary hits of designer espresso and a spectacular view of the harbor.
There appeared to be a brisk pace of business and lots of credit cards were changing hands to snap up the artful commodities. Art, for the most part, is the sport of the very rich and the rest of us just gawk. Artists often comment that they can't afford to own their own work.
In addition to the great range of art on view it was just fun to people watch especially some really outrageous characters trying their best to attract attention. But the competition was stiff. It was easy to spot the European dealers with their Armani suits and Gucci shoes as well as that slicked back hair that signifies fine breeding and success. Oh well.
