steve dalachinsky

on the street (a spinoff) / or huntington hartford 90210


the city agreed to sell 2 columbus circle
originally built as A & P heir Huntington Hartford’s
teen drama Beverly Hills 90210
which premiers tonite as a Gallery of Modern ART.

it has recently gotten a make over & is now simply called 90210
it features plots that may sound familiar
glazed terra cotta tiles
a brother & sister who experience culture shock
when their family moves into an events room
a wealthy student body
with eyes that will be watching what kind of shows are done
& what type of educational programs will be offered
balding fathers / frumpy “momjeans” / heavy handed moralizing
& a strictly synthesized swelling that underscores
a blanket of pomp & flash
with a dose of traditional values thrown in

the museum of ARTS & DESIGN paid $17,000,000
& will get a 2 million dollar discount if it opens on time
(this is the kind of wealth that buys office buildings)

there will also be:
increased admission prices
spending limits
drama & reality
stark opposition to exorbitant wealth
floor to ceiling windows / higher expectations
the few remaining so-called lollipops
400,000 visitors
teenagers & young adults hopelessly out of place
zip-coded / mad & currently on track
which comes with moving into a larger more prominent home
a new coming of age in a challenging era
the end of one journey & the beginning of another
& a famously posh ribbon of cuts that brings light & views
no matter how it may look in the movies

i think we are in a position to actually achieve
boundary testing
& therefore be able to act recklessly
within this soul-searching process of self-examination.
there are a lot of corn-fed eyes watching
chest/nuts hopelessly out of place
delivering on promises on a much larger scale
showcasing the mostly wealthy legal battles
& inadequate amenities such as a CAFÉ
& FICTIONALIZED HIGH SCHOOL

the preservationists are altering original promises
jim, roy & cindy bringing in a new curatorial staff
to what hopefully will be a permanent space
things the viewers are not likely to see reprised
brenda & her twin brother brandon arriving in elegant armor
precocious teenagers with their materialistic toys
blurring the boundaries between art, craft, television & design
that didn’t make anyone really happy
< so hence the name change >

the result is:
a secret that is never safe / an exterior shape
that is actually darker more fantastical &
further removed from lived experience by younger viewers
curfews pending [of course] who live in a more cynical culture
with slight modifications & endowments >
massed produced objects of clay / glass / metal & wood
materialism & narcissism incorporating new technologies
exploration of works in the collection
second lives / site specific works &
thematic interactive couture clad concrete boxes
in other words it is
very much a work-in-progress that might prove too ambitious
with its cocaine snorting students
nice girl / mean girl / mensch & preachy parents >
it’s a real chance to attract younger collectors &
wholesome bite-sized lessons, such as:
SeX is NoT a GaMe {cindy sherman} – especially in this day & AgE

but the audience for these lessons / are suspicious
& are not willing to accept these lessons as part of the story telling
& if people only like you for your appearance
then they don’t really like you at all.

so put on a new face & leave your morals at home with the MAID.



dalachinsky bellevue hospital 9/2/08 taken from 2 articles in the SUN