Commentary
With the US presidential election taking place next month, it’s really quite exciting. Unlike in past elections, when we were privileged to chose the lesser of two evils, this time around there are genuine choices to make. I probably don’t know any more about Senator Obama than you do, but his choice of Senator Joseph Biden, who happened to be my first choice for president, is encouraging. My guess is this team would have the intellectual wherewithal to press other top caliber people into service; for example, how about Richard Holbruck for Secretary of State? There is actually a pool of very smart and exceptionally qualified people waiting in the wings, that a new administration could draw on. But of course, all of this depends on your vote...
?All politics aside, this month’s M takes an up-close look at the Lower East Side, aka LES. There’s a new “brand” awareness taking root in this part of downtown (remember downtown?) that is actually just a few blocks east of Soho. In fact, our completely redesigned art map for the “Village LES” includes Soho galleries, and you can actually see the New Museum’s new building on the Bowery, while standing on Broadway in Soho. In this regard, the LES could be described as an eastward continuation of Soho. Yes, it seems that the art world has gone back to the future again.
Also in this month’s issue, Natane Takeda reviews Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan at the ICP, and Mary Hrbacek reviews Sharon Weiner’s recent work at the Allen Gallery in Chelsea.
M. Brendon MacInnis
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