New York / Bigger & Better

Every October, I go to New York for meetings. In between meetings, I try to soak up as much art and culture as I can. Over the years, the seeing art / getting inspired part of the trip has become equally, if not more important than the meeting part.

Visiting with existing clients is something I've always enjoyed. Being based in Boulder, many of my work relationships take place via phone or email. Even with all the advances in technology, there's still nothing that compares to meeting in person, and flipping through a real book.

As for the inspiration part, the highlight of this trip was the Chris Burden show at the New Museum. I loved his work, all of which made me really uncomfortable, but more importantly, was really moved by his commitment to his work. In one of his more famous performance pieces, Burden had someone shoot him with a rifie in the arm, from about 10 feet away:

In 1974, he had himself nailed to the back of a Volkswagen: 

Visiting New York is a reminder that someone will always be doing work that is bigger and better than yours. Which is a good enough reason to keep making work that is bigger and better than before.