Surfaces and Surfing

One of the things I don't like about websites is the lack of transparency. It is virtually impossible to get a sense of the depth and breadth of the content. With New York Daily Photo, for example, each visitor comes into one single page. I have, however, done over 1,400 stories. How many will be read? Who will take the time to explore the archives or search on keywords? Many of my best stories and photos are buried.

Of course there are ways of redesigning a site to optimize and encourage exploration of previous content and I intend to do that. With print media, however, with just a cursory examination, you immediately get a lay of the land. If someone hands you a 3,000 page catalog, you only need to rifle through it briefly to get a good sense of its offerings and areas of specialty. But a website may have 100 products or one million and only lots of digging will reveal that. Superior graphics may give the illusion that one company has more to offer than it really does.

Walking the streets of New York observing people is much like surfing the web, seeing only their first page. To get a sense of a person's content, you're going to have to stop, meet and dig deeper.

I have been doing that for nearly five years now and as readers of this site can attest, the depth, breadth, eccentricity and brilliance of many unassuming people that inhabit the streets of New York City is extraordinary. Of course, not every person possesses even one of these superlative attributes and even fewer could be fairly said to have all, but there are enough to make contacts with people in New York City an unending journey into the world of surprises.

This city is a magnet for those driven for success in many arenas and also as an important brewery for artists of all persuasions. Although electronic media and communication have decentralized the arts somewhat, only a very large city is going to provide ample opportunities for many - painters, musicians, dancers, and other performers, etc. who really need to interact and interrelate in person. Despite the online world, there is still a dynamism and synergy when people are physically together.

I have often seen the sculptures of Sidi Abdul near my office at Spring Street and Broadway. I stopped to talk to him briefly last night as he was packing up. We exchanged contact information. I asked Sidi about the nature of his work and he informed me buyers purchased his work and displayed them as art pieces in homes etc.

When I receive his biographical information, I will update this posting. For now, enjoy what you see. I love the elegance of his work. There is more on his Flickr site here. Notice the use of New York City subway maps in the construction of these sculptures. I have often been critical on this website of examples where appearance reigned over substance. However, there are many things where genuine beauty lies on the surface. Surfaces and surfing are not always a bad thing :)