Word. When you live in NYC, it’s all about the arty farty party. You can use that phrase, but please, only use it if a) you’re arty b) you’re at a party and c) you have a majorly convincing British accent, a la Downton Abbey. To that end, consider the Whitney Contemporaries the American version of art appreciation that ” is a dynamic group of art patrons between the ages of twenty-one and forty, committed to supporting the Whitney’s mission of championing emerging voices and artistic innovation.” Hooray to that mission statement! One of the benefits of this group is the opportunity to visit artists’ studios. This is a unique opportunity to see an artist’s space and works in progress. The latest event was held at the studio of Orly Genger who works with raw materials, such as rope. On display in her white, narrow and high ceilinged Williamsburg studio, was the upcoming production of a large scale piece for Madison Square Park that will debut this May. The project involves over 1.4 million feet of rope – previously used to catch lobster – which is cleaned, braided and then painted with regular ol’ house paint. Her commission was to re-imagine the park, taking a smaller exhibit and making it on a larger scale. I liked the generally ‘knotty-ness’ of it all and if you like the concept, Orly also sells jewelry made with the same ship shape materials that you can adorn your little sailor-ette wrist and/or neck with. Orly took some time to explain her work to the crowd that had gathered:
One of the members asked about the similarity of Orly’s work to that of her teacher, Jackie Winsor, who also works with raw materials. Her response was along the lines that she was not familiar with Jackie’s work, which is odd. Since she was Orly’s teacher…
The style of the knotting technique for the rope is based on crochet techniques and is all done by hand.
Of the 1.4 million feet of rope – lobster bits are constantly being extracted from the tangled mess, which made me think of this poem:
Oh, the life of a lobster!
Whoa is me, I wanted to go for a swim and be set free
Instead, I wound up in this net, because I had lost a bet
Now I sit in some artist’s grip
A former shell of myself
Whoa is me
Oh, to be a lobster at sea!
The Larissa Goldston Gallery in New York represents Orly Genger.
My New York Note Book 
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