CAPTION ACTION
Regarding the caption of a photograph in [Visual Arts Listings, Sept. 7]: The picture shows two Orthodox Jews at prayer at the most sacred site in Jewish tradition: The Wailing Wall. This is the last remaining wall of King Solomon's Temple. One of the men is in traditional black attire, the other in army khaki, clutching a rifle.
The caption reads: "Whole Foods hosts Stephen Kerpen's recent photographs of Turkey and Palestine." This touching artwork depicts a scene in ISRAEL, and in no way depicts a scene in PALESTINE. Apologies are due to millions of Jews worldwide for this thoughtless gaffe.
Gortdon Micunis and Jay Kobrin
Santa Fe
THE HORROR
Bravo Zane Fisher! Not only did his recent column [Zane's World, Sept. 21: "
Railyards and Riding Canyon Road
"] bring good news regarding the Railyard's contemporary art renaissance, but he addressed (with good, black humor) a subject that's been an annoyance to me for some time.
"The horror, the horror of Canyon Road" is a deft description of what one experiences when travelling up that historic roadway. I'm not certain when so many Canyon Road galleries decided to assault the public with large (and usually crappy) sculptures lurching out over the sidewalks and almost onto the street proper; but please, enough is enough!
Too much wasted bronze and granite are aggressively positioned so that NO ONE can possibly escape these three-dimensional cartoons of Native Americana (both aesthetically and politically insulting), frolicking children, kidney-shaped dreck posing as "moderne," and one unfortunate gallery has even plastered its outside walls with bad, framed paintings. There are rugs hung on walls, a forest of iridescent whirlygigs and a lifesize moose all desperately competing for attention. For God's sake, Canyon Road looks more like a back alley in Istanbul than the historically dignified street it used to be.
I realize that ours is a capitalist society and that aggressive marketing is the name of the game; however, this trashing of publicly visible space is way too "IN YOUR FACE." Come on Canyon Road merchants, get a grip and clean up your act!
John Fincher
Santa Fe
WHAT THE FECK?
In the past 15 years I have lived in Santa Fe and trolled our art scene, the many new art dealers (I use the term loosely) who've hung out their wares-literally!-on Canyon Road have gradually lowered the tone of this fabled lane to unimaginable depths.
There would seem to be zero respect for the legend the street once was. The Boardwalk at Coney Island, at its most lurid pitch, boasted more class than Canyon today.
Zane Fischer's modest proposal to turn the whole shebang into a laff-riot, fun-filled midway is effectively already a fait accompli; all that's needed is a gaudy vehicle to roll up the line every day-perhaps trailing a calliope?
Hop on, hop off! Buy some cotton candy! Feed the monkeys! Have your eye put out by a bobbing whirlygig! Snap a pic of Mary Jane with that adorable toadstool!
Is there any such thing as a "gallery association" responsible for all this artistic "horror on Elm Street?"
Clearly, those in charge here got no feck whatsoever!
Jan Adlmann
Santa Fe
MULTIPLEX HEX
As the owner of a home just west of the Railyard, I've been generally pleased with the vision of the Railyard development so far-with one big exception: the misguided plans for a multiplex movie theater. It seems painfully evident that a megaplex will cut against the tenor of a unique new community now beginning to coalesce around the park, Farmers' Market, artists' spaces, and (hopefully) a commuter train depot. But now Zane Fischer has proposed a striking idea: Instead of "digging up Native American burial ground to build a new convention center, [why not] finish off the Railyard with a multi-purpose, community-use center and…build a bicycle/walking path from the Railyard to the DeVargas Center, where there's…already one multiplex and room for more? Why not indeed? This would revitalize a moribund DeVargas-now suffering a huge vacancy at the old Albertson's location-while ensuring that the Railyard does not become yet another suburban-style shopping mall. What's more, if this community center were designed by an eco-friendly architect like Ed Mazria [SFR Talk, Sept. 21:
], the entire area could become a showcase for sustainable-based urban planning. Fischer's proposal deserves serious consideration.
Kevin Fedarko
Santa Fe
ABOVE WATER
Michael Tisserand's report that "New Orleans is gone" was, to recall Mark Twain, highly exaggerated [Outtakes, Sept. 7:
].
Coming from the editor of the Crescent City's widely read Gambit Weekly, that declaration was particularly irritating to those of us who know the city well. Apparently, Tisserand bailed out early while rumors and corporate media hyperbole were in full force. Still, a little curiosity for the facts on the ground would have revealed that a large swath of the most historic parts of the Crescent City was intact and free of floodwaters.
The French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, the Arts District, and everything uptown from St. Charles Avenue to the Mississippi River are free of major damage, except for fallen trees and a handful of missing roof shingles. This includes not the tony Garden District and University sections, but working class neighborhoods such as the Irish Channel and Black Pearl. Magazine Street and Tchoupitoulas, vital business arteries, are also in good shape. While some businesses were "liberated," there was almost no looting of homes.
This is not hearsay. I've been in touch with friends there by landline phones and the Internet. One dear friend headed for shelter at the Superdome just before Katrina hit. After five nights there she'd had enough of the chaos. So she walked several blocks to her own home, took a nice bath, and rested in her own snug double shotgun house for over a week until the military came by to suggest she should leave. She got a ride out with a neighbor on Saturday and stayed with me here in Santa Fe, sharing her firsthand account of the hurricane experience.
I don't mean to diminish the terrible misfortune suffered by many New Orleanians, but readers should know there's another side to the Katrina drama. Many people are determined to return as soon as possible and get on with their lives in one of America's most treasured cities. They are eager to help their neighbors rebuild (with minimal carpetbagger interference). They hope the government won't be so stingy now with Army Corps of Engineers requests for adequate funding for the levee system and restoration of the wetlands.
Tisserand said he "can't say when (New Orleans) will be back." I'll venture a guess. Much more than he expects will be up and ready for a party by Mardi Gras 2006.
Richard Polese
Santa Fe
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