Covering Over the Eyesore With Fabric
I understand the effort, I really do. The walk along 8th Avenue in the early West 40s has been an eyesore for ages. So when Governor Spitzer, along with the Fashion Center Business Improvement District (BID), decided to post up some "art" along the windows of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, I applauded them. Their aim was to make the pedestrians walk down 8th Avenue a little more tasteful and to showcase local wares that are available in the nearby Fashion District ([while it still remains]) by putting up panels of textiles over the windows that formerly were covered by blank paper blocking the construction site inside.
The Fabric Display Art Installation at Port Authority was created by teacher and artist Joy Suarez and went up November 30, consisting of 30 panels using fabric, trim and notions available in the Fashion District. The Fashion Center BID wanted to transform the windows of the Port Authority, while creating something beautiful and inspirational for pedestrians," said Barbara Randall, executive director of the Fashion Center BID. This installation also reflects the fashion industry tenants that define the neighborhood as the fashion capital of the world.
The unveiling coincides with the Fashion Center BIDs release of [The Fashion District SourceBook], a guide to the best shops to get the best trimmings, beads and fabrics in the area. This book is available in its entirety online, and is extremely useful for shoppers in the Fashion District.
The trouble is not the book, but the exhibit itself. After I checked it out mysel, I realized that their approach is of the band-aid-for-a-cancer-patient variety. The cancer being the teeming mass of seizure-inducing lights and spectacle that is Times Square. While its undoubtedly an improvement over the blank paper that used to cover the windows, you barely notice the subtle and muted colors of the panels because your eye is instantly drawn to the neon blinking Chevys sign a block away. And right across the street is a somber-looking construction site, so the art does little to cheer up the aspect. The area is one of the most glaringly commercial strips in New York, and the Fashion Center BIDs attempt to imbue the area with culture and be commercial in an understated way simply doesn't fit with the environs. The cacophony of Times Square will always drown out the delicate artistry of this subtle fabric installation.