Backdrop for a Town Hall Meeting

So honored to be represented by Congressman Jerry Nadler, an upholder and scholar of the Constitution, a man of integrity, intellect, and commitment, and an unabashed progressive, who hopefully will be our next Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler hosted a town hall meeting tonight. He picked the “largest venue” for his constituents, the auditorium of the High School of Fashion Industries on West 24th Street.

The place turned out to be a hidden gem (of many in the greatest city in the world.) There, flanking both walls of the auditorium were two monumental, detailed murals (a WPA project most probably,) completed in 1940 by Ernest Fiene, who depicted the birth of the union movement in the needle trades, emanating from the catastrophic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Freight Elevator as Gallery

One of the rarely seen—and exclusive—art installations in Chelsea: a freight elevator in the former Nabisco factory, now the Chelsea Market, encrusted with carefully cut and silhouetted sports memorabilia. The artist (and sports nut)—the elevator operator himself, allowed me to take a few photos of his magnum opus.

Berlin Palimpsests

The city is encrusted with layers of memory, walls, history, schlag, foam, streusel, graffiti, and these found collages:

Kreuzberg, Oranienstraße

Bernauer Straße, near Mauerpark

Rosenthaler Straße, Mitte