Saturday, November 24, 2012

Art vs Signage

"Signs for wayfinding" on bike path bridge over downtown Northampton
Little White House, Hampshire College front yard

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um, that's art on the bridge. Not wayfinding signage.

Anonymous said...

An open letter to mayor Narkewicz: If the Valley Advocate article is accurate, a very serious error has been committed, and that is putting it politely. Where in the world does Feiden get off handing one of the most valuable, prominent canvases in the Valley to an artist on his whim? My opinion has nothing to do with the money, nothing to do with Ostroff, who is a wonderful artist, it has solely to do with the nerve of Feiden to arbitrarily decide what the citizenry will look at daily for decades to come. Forget about the technicalities of signage vs art, the fact that he would draw that line when it is so obviously art reeks of a dirty deal and unfathomable arrogance. How can you have faith in this man's judgement from this day forward? I believe he should be fired, the artwork removed, and the space properly awarded to an artist via a clean, transparent process. Thank you, Richard Marsh.

Dr. Ed said...

I will go further -- why am I supposed to tolerate (and pay for) this garbage called "art"?

I want an ordered and logical world, and this abstract art does nothing but promote chaos. We have enough chaos, much as people talk about having "none of the above" as an option for elections, how about having "NO artwork" as an option in a said clear and transparent process?

Personally, I liked the bridge the way it was with the logo of the now defunct "Boston and Maine RR" painted on it -- history and all of the rest all in one package.
Or how about 2-3 large prints of historic trains going across that bridge, say an old steam train, a streamliner, and a circa 70's diesel?

Why can't we have something normal instead of this drug-induced nightmare stuff?

Anonymous said...

It's Northampton. What do you expect? Yet another reason to not venture over the bridge and shop there.

Anonymous said...

"Personally, I liked the bridge the way it was with the logo of the now defunct "Boston and Maine RR""

Ha! Ha! Ed, you idiot. That was painted on the bridge in 1992 as part of the set design for the film MALICE, which was shot in Northampton and also in Amherst. There's nothing historical about it.

Dr. Ed said...

That was painted on the bridge in 1992 as part of the set design for the film MALICE, which was shot in Northampton and also in Amherst. There's nothing historical about it.

I really don't care if it was painted on the bridge by the local lesbian cabal in the midst of a sex-crazed orgy - nor does it affect the accuracy or relevance of what I wrote, you myopic moron.

FACT: That was once a main line of a railroad known as the Boston & Maine. FACT: The MA DCR has an actual circa 1970s picture of a B&M Switch Engine running a car or two over the bridge to Amherst Farmer's Supply.

FACT: The Boston and Maine was dissolved into Gilford Transportation under the Springfield Terminal contract in the 1980s -- it no longer exists.

And how is it relevant who painted the logo of a now-defunct railroad onto the bridge? It still is history and all the rest in one package....

Anonymous said...

"Only In The Republic Of Dr. Ed"

Larry, what in god's name is your fascination with this blowhard? Cliff Clavin's got nothin' on this douchebag.

Anonymous said...

Who are you trying to fool Ed, you're not paying for anything

Dr. Ed said...

Larry, can we please call them
"Cowardly Useless Nameless Twits who Heedlessly Echo Any Defamatory Stuff?"

And Larry, while small children aren't going to have issues with us doing so, think about this for a minute please...

Anonymous said...

can we please call them

"Them"? Who the fuck are you, "Dr. Ed"?

- Captain Moonbeam, aka Pinhead Pete, aka Chopper