Being an artist is all about putting forth in the world a vision that is yours and yours alone, a perspective that hopefully many people will find unique, challenging and rewarding. But even though my signature is the only one at the bottom corner of my paintings, part of how I work is by bringing into the development process my wonderful circle of friends, who have been rallying to my cause for years now. Be it to contribute to the pieces, to help produce them or promote them, I count myself incredibly blessed that, every time I put a call out to those who love me, I know they will be there for me, no matter how crazy my request.
And so it was last Saturday morning. Even to those who know me, the message must have sounded a little more insane than usual. I was working on the invite for the temporary "resurrection" of my installations, this Thursday in New York thanks to the folks at ANAVAILABLESPACE. So I asked: could they help me carry a giant black cock around the streets of Manhattan?
A few were baffled for a second, and then they remembered the piece from my exhibit. Surely, I wasn't talking about carrying an 18 foot long penis around? Yes, I was, and the re sult was a trek across Downtown like we will never have again.
The question on everyone's lips that morning was - could we get arrested? Well, yes, of course. And yet somehow, not one of my friends tried to find an excuse to get out of it. Everyone donned on gloves to protect the artwork, and duly lined up carrying a section of the penis. Off we went. Where to first? I think it was too late when everyone realized that I had taken them right next to a police station. Some might have suspected me of trying to make a statement, to dare to go right where I shouldn't. And maybe I was. But before you know it, we were crossing a major street holding a giant, stiff black cock.
And on we went, from next to a police station to a very discreet location: the Southern tip of Manhattan, where tourists line up for the ferries to the Statue of Liberty. In fact, thousands of them seemed to have lined up there that morning. I wasn't to sure what to expect from the crowds. I was happy to see that so many people got a kick out of what we were doing, taking pictures from every angle, even from their apartment windows as they waved to us. I love this city.
More importantly, I love all of you who believe in me, who are always willing to lend a hand, a who cheer for me when I succeed. There is a little bit of you in every one of my pieces.
