But Is It Art? (II) (Click To See Vol. I)

Last week I went on a guided tour of some galleries in Chelsea. In the late eighties Chelsea was not the home of the art scene in Manhattan. But someone was ahead of his time. A major artist named Joseph Beuys believed that social change was possible to achieve via creativity. Between 1982 and 1989 he paired 7000 newly planted trees with basalt stones in Kassel, Germany and this had an impact on the environment. Between 1988 and 1996 the Dia Foundation extended Beuys' project to New York City. They paired 22 trees with Beuys sculptures. You can walk down the street and not notice them. That was part of his point. The idea reminds me of G-d's dandelions, how they are so beautiful and so common - so they go unheralded. When the saplings were placed on the bustling down town street people questioned if they would grow. Artist Tobi Kahn recalls being in art school at the time and being dragged to see the newly installed stones and trees along 22nd street between 10th and 11th avenues. The young students were nonplussed. Today, as you can see, the trees loom large over the basalt stone sculptures below. I think it's pretty cool.