DAE student Adrian Madlener tells about his internship with Christian Wassmann, an achitect and designer based in New York. This story is a sequel to his earlier written blogs. Adrian is a student of the department Man & Leisure.
Adrien Madlener:
6 Degrees, more like 2 Degrees of Separation
‘Worlds collide,’ on subway platforms when you least expect them to. The faces are all familiar day in and day out, each filling the stereotypical role of riders in either direction up and down town. The journey becomes routine and very little can deter from meditation before engagements on the other side. Don’t look into people’s eyes but rather keep them transfixed on the ads above or in the novel your reading. Don’t be fazed or they’ll discover, that you’re not really a New Yorker, maybe just visiting.
The other day I woke up after a late night, the stinging nostalgia of the dream that had haunted the early hours. Melancholic pangs were met with reasonable answers. Vivid imagery of the beach I spent so many summers on, the figures and faces of people I have known throughout my life standing in awkward clusters looking straight at me. Obviously a juvenile reflection but perhaps more current then I initially judged. The past month has revealed another truth of this city. Practically speaking- 6 million people on a small narrow island and even more funneling through, your bound to run into old acquaintances- Personally speaking – from how long ago do I know you?
As the summer approaches, 13 weeks into my internship, I finally feel like I live here. That said this city throws its newcomers into a 6-month trial period before rhythm and balance settle in. Can you really make it here? What’s more astonishing is how much I have quickly reconnected with people from as far back as elementary school, even running into them on subway platforms on the way to work.
The social webbing is not reserved to this town or country. Its hard not to get all mixed up in it, very quickly the focus shifts from looking out to looking in at New York. Beyond its boundaries, a little too fuzzy.
Earlier this month, I visited Time Square. Something I would never do if not for a special reason. On this particular evening the video portraits of one of my mentors, Robert Wilson, went up on a few screens. A break from the constant pumping out of capitalism, they remained on display for 3 minutes. It was quite a moment, as I realized that for Mr. Wilson, this was the first time New York and the United States could finally appreciate him in wider appeal, a tenured dream of his. It also sparked the notion that the community that he built around him had inducted me into their ranks. It’s not business but rather the artistic exchange that lingers and seeps back into view every now and then. This influences my internship, the gallery openings, and performances I go to and much more. Are you really here, in New York, really?
Last weekend was even more solidifying. Working at the Frieze Art Fair as a lowly ticket taker exposed me to the intricacies of the art world. Collectors, celebrities, and admired artists, were heralded but for me seeing people I knew was more interesting. 50,000 passed through those doors and from that I reencountered hundreds of faces. It was almost like I was setting myself up. The art fair provided an interesting contrast from a constant design focus. It was harder for me to assess ‘art work’ with a design lens on. Concepts were not easily distilled but rather aesthetics seemed to taint my opinions. Here is a review of the art fair.
This particular world is fascinating, small in this town, but larger as an international circuit of diverse individuals involved in the isolated economy of selling art. Jerry Salts, the revered New York critic, wrote and created a multimedia article with a self-explanatory title. There should be something like this written for the design world of which is almost non-existent in this town. The architect or decorator circles usually engulf design, yes, I mean Martha Stewart.
It’s still all about getting connected, who’d you meet last night and where did you go for dinner? Worlds might collide in some cases but they generally stay far apart, even when it seems like they’re fundamentally related. Don’t be fooled by some small design/architecture firms, some actually hold homage to the art world. The best is when you meet someone who knows someone you know, hence the cycle is shortened, 6 degrees becomes 2 degrees of separation. And of course in that case, why not think that the world is New York, and that everywhere else is just a suburb or an offshoot.