Artist Christo Comes to Ulysses!
Rumor has it that Christo, the artist of international renown who covered the Reichstag in white, covered coastlines, and put saffron sheets on display in Central Park, has come to the town of Ulysses! They’re saying that, just to the south of the village of Trumansburg, Christo has covered up the new Kinney drugstore in giant white sheets, as is his wont to do.
Christo is usually referred to as a conceptual artist. What’s his concept in covering the new Kinney drugstore here on the outskirts of Trumansburg, I wonder?
Is it a shroud, symbolizing the death of businesses that Trumansburgers can walk to? Does the white plastic perhaps symbolize the uniform, featureless commoditization of small town business that results when big chains buy out small, locally owned stores? Does the airtight seal represent the refusal of Kinney Drugs to pay taxes to the Village of Trumansburg anymore? Perhaps the sheets, separating inside from outside, represent the location of the store just on the edge of the village, placed exactly where the store won’t have to contribute to village life, yet can profit from it.
There are so many possible interpretations, I’m regretting never taking an art appreciation class in college.
Always enjoy your posts Jonathan.
Yes, the new site does look quite eerie about the site with those white sites up. I rode by yesterday night on the bus and the entire thing looked like the bee-drome scenes in The X-Files Movie. Remember that? Anyone?
Your picture is also great. It takes something that is actually very mundane, buts it in an entire new light. Isn’t that what all art modern is supposed to be about any way? The flecks of snow and the sickly administrative green-white of the light make it all more surreal. Peace!
How about someone putting together a photo collage of all the lovely EXISTING businesses along route 96 between T-burg and Jacksonville. I usually barrel through this stretch with blinders on, but today I did a little reality check while driving into Ithaca. The ugly steel building/large parking lot school of architecture is represented by the Sure-Save, Palmer’s, and McGuire’s. Next we have the Bar Angus and the Stover’s interesting multiplex (which I generously categorize as “frontier” architecture). And then there’s the used car/fine cabinetry buildings on the right that truly defy definition. What can you say? So, it’s hard for me to be too critical of Kinney Drug when I see what the local business community has done to us without any help from national chains. All the best.