Macy’s Parade Balloons

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Terry and I went up to New York City over the Thanksgiving break. A distant cousin, Nini Thorspecken, was visiting America from Weisbadden Germany. Nini is just 17 years old so we wanted to give her an authentic taste of the Big Apple. My sister Carol Martindale came down from upstate New York and we all stayed on Staten Island. The ferry ride across the harbor to the city was gorgeous, going right past the Statue of Liberty. Carol had passes to get into the 9/11 Memorial, so that was our first stop. The memorial is amazing, with two huge square holes where the towers once stood. Water cascaded down into the wells like Niagara Falls and then the water leveled off before dropping into a smaller deeper well. Names of everyone who perished that day were etched in steel along the outer perimeter. It is an amazing sight and I plan to return someday to sketch.

We all took the subway to the Upper West Side to see the Macy’s balloons being blown up on 77th street next to the Museum of Natural History. When I lived in the city, this was an annual sketch ritual. I would stay up all night sketching and then watch as the crews allowed the giants to lift up into the breeze. There was always some balloon that would blow over into a light post, popping a limb. This year the crowds were astonishing. There was a line that branched off for two solid blocks and then wrapped back to where I was standing to sketch. The traffic cop standing in front of me tended to ignore all the pleas from suburban moms who wanted to know how to get in. Occasionally he would point but he never spoke.  Terry went to visit an old friend named Kent Brasloff so I decided I had time to do this one sketch. Carol and Nini decided to go get dinner and they would meet me back here when they were done.

The only balloons I could identify were an Aflac Duck, a Koolaid Pitcher and some Anime dragon. By the time I finished the sketch, the line had backed up to the point where I was in the crush of the crowd. I hadn’t noticed since I was so focused on the strange nocturnal scene. When Carol and Nini came back, I was done. We texted Terry to let her know we were heading back down to the Battery to catch the ferry back to Staten Island. When we got off the subway, Terry called out to us as we were walking up the subway steps. She must have been in the next car.

Digital Salute

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A Tibetan Monk was the second-to-last person to sit opposite Marina Abramovic as part of “The Artist is Present.” A friend from high school named Bonnie Rose had joined me, and we returned to the exhibit which was now packed. I tried to see Marina and the Tibetan Monk by jumping up to see over all the heads. I discovered I got a decent view when I stood on my camping stool. Brian wanted to see the final moments of the performance so I let him stand on the stool. When the last person walked off the exhibit floor leaving Marina alone, the audience burst into applause. Marina then started shaking hands of people who surrounded her. Everyone in the room seemed to have an iPhone, digital camera or video camera and they all raised them over their heads to take photos. To me it was an iconic sight, a sort of digital salute with all the cameras offering validation and acknowledgment that an important moment was happening.

Actress Liv Tyler pushed through the crowd with her entourage past us. Suddenly, Brian came crashing down from the camping stool I have used for years. It had had enough and ripped wide open. I asked if he could get up and he was stuck. I grabbed him under his right arm an lifted him up. I was surprised by how light he is. The room was still filled with thunderous applause. The guards were creating a break in the crowd right in front of us so Marina could be ushered out. Brian yelled out that I should get one of my sketches signed by Marina. I scrambled around looking for a pen and had just gotten ready when she passed in front of us. Her attention was diverted by some of her friends opposite us so she never noticed the sketch. I had arrived in NYC at 7:30 or so in the morning and I was flying out late that night. It was a whirlwind day that I will never forget. Next to us was a sign that read: “Today is the final day of the exhibition, “Marina Abromovic: The Artist is Present.”

The Artist is Present

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As Brian Feldman got closer to the front of the line at MoMA‘s “The Artist is Present” exhibition, it was getting near the end of the day. Several times he walked out of the room and I feared that he might have given up or changed his mind. Instead, he was charging his iPhone so he could continue to text updates to people following his progress. When Brian was on deck, the next person to go on the floor, a guard stood next to him talking for some time. From my perch at a third floor window overlooking the room, I couldn’t hear what was being said. Later, Brian told me that the guard had reservations about letting Brian sit opposite Marina Abramovic in his white robe. He feared Brian might be planning something disruptive.


I worked on this sketch for over an hour before Brian sat down. I simply left the seat empty where Brian would sit until he was finally in place. Since I was in a black suit, some people may have thought I was a guard; I was asked more than a few times about the event and was happy to answer questions. A small group of people clustered around the window I was drawing from, and wanted to know all about Brian. I couldn’t help but offer some background on this amazingly charged clash of titans.


From the moment Brian sat down, he said he felt Marina was in total control. Towards the middle of their time together, Marina placed her hand to her chest and gasped lightly. Then, she once again regained composure and remained in control. When Brian walked away, Marina leaned forward and wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands. After it all was over, MoMA visitors stopped Brian and asked him questions as he walked around the museum. He said that he was ready to stare at Marina all day, but was still grateful for the brief moment he had been granted. I think this trip to NYC made a major impression on Brian. Walking the streets afterward, he was carefree and lighthearted. I have never seen him so happy.

Brian Waits

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Brian Feldman had a dream. He shared it with me months ago at a Toast to Elizabeth Maupin at the Repertory Theater in Orlando Loch Haven Park. He told me that he wanted to sit opposite Marina Abramovic, the world’s greatest living performance artist, who was having a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) called “The Artist is Present.” On top of it all, Brian wanted me to join him on the quest knowing I would get a great sketch. The MoMA exhibition consisted of Marina sitting in the center of the atrium with spectators having the ability to sit opposite her and look into her eyes for as long as they could last, as an exercise in being present in the moment with another person. Brian wanted to camp out overnight outside the museum on the final day of the exhibit to be first in line to sit opposite Marina and then he hoped to sit opposite her for seven straight hours. Brian raised money to get himself to NYC through donations at his parallel performance “The Staring Contest.” One person was generous enough to actually give Brian their Delta Sky Miles. The dream was now a reality. Marina had been performing “The Artist is Present” for two and a half straight months and Brian was determined to be there on the final day, May 31st.

The day started with surprises. Upon his arrival to MoMA, Brian found out that they were allowing people to sit opposite Marina for only 10 minutes. Though disappointed, he kept moving forward rather than turning back. Though he camped outside the museum, there were 29 people who were in front of him in a line that inched forward in agonizingly slow increments. There was no guarantee that Brian would even get the chance he had planned and trained for over many months.The exhibit drew people from all over and there were many who waited patiently along with Brian for their chance to be present with Marina. Photographer Marco Anelli took photos of every person who sat opposite Marina. Shortly after the exhibit opened, a young woman in a one piece dress approached Marina and before she sat down, whipped the dress up over her head and stood naked for a split second in the center of the crowded room. Guards rushed around her and shielded the audience from getting a clear view of the woman. Crying, she was led away. As the pandemonium died down, he glanced over at me and raised his hands and shoulders in a gesture that said, “What the …?” Brian regained his focus and waited for his chance to face Marina.