manhattaneng | artfool.se

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We learnt that every building with more than five stories must have it's own water tank on top, and that that is the reason behind the special architechture on Manhattan.

Everything is not modern in New York. This electricity system on Staten Island would not have been allowed in Sweden.

These halloween monsters were made by the hotel staff.

There was much more nature, parks and water views than I hade expected. This is the High Line, a walking way on an old railway.

Ooh, have you been to New York!

Wasn't that lovely?

Yes, now I have been to New York, more precisely to Manhattan. And yes, it was a nice, but not outstanding, experience: it is a town with normal people in, with many high buildings, but not everywhere. The art was not better or more interesting than the art I can see at home. But then I did not have the addresses to those artists who are not represented in the galleries on Manhattan.

I went with two friends the first week in November. Both Halloween and Marathon made our hotel more expensive than planned. Halloween filled Manhattan with masquerading people - in Sweden all would have been very drunk and vociferous. It was more sober on Manhattan. It was also less running in the Underground than in the Metro in Stockholm. Nearly everyone we met was kind and had time for tourists.

It was difficult to get used to give tips to everyone everywhere - we do not have that in Sweden nowadays. Many Swedes use only credit cards and have no change, which makes it difficult for our beggars.

It was also difficult to get used to the waste of paper and plastic: we never got fewer than six paper napkins in restaurants.

I went because I wanted to see the exhibitions I had works in, in Agora Gallery and Manhattan Graphics Center respectively. I also wanted to inspect galleries that have offered me soloexhibitions, but no: it is to expensive to participate in artlife in USA. The transport of an exhibition can cost 5 400 USD one way. If the artworks are not sold the artist has to pay the return transport.

Is is also more fun to exhibit where one can look into the gallery - to travel back to US is to expensive and the flight to boring and to bad for the environment.