I wonder what artists living and working in London, a city far more expensive than NYC, would think of this thread. What would Justin Bond say? I've been having the "New York is too expensive to survive as an artist" discussion since 1988. Granted the scale is much bigger now, and the Guiliani years stole things that may never return. Yet I am still here after all this time, striving to carve out my own little niche in the creative landscape. Listening to the sound of crickets in some peaceful country abode is a necessary now-and-then. But as an artist my muse still lies in the towers of this stinky, unnatural concrete Hell. So, for better or for worse, here I stay.
At the center of it all is the love affair one has with Manhattan. Are you still in love or not? Once the romance leaves your heart, the marriage is over. But as you sign the divorce papers remember that it takes two to tango. I guess I'm just not over having Sweeney Todd on Broadway or the latest Martin McDonough play or The Armory opening or the Westminster Dog Show Finals or Antony & the Johnsons at Town Hall or Happy Valley or the World Famous BOB's shaking tits all just a 5-minute cab ride away. Or the ocean a short train ride away in summer. Hell, I still get flutters hearing traffic outside my window and seeing the Empire State Building lit up in the night sky while watching my dog play. Maybe it's fantasy. Maybe it's addiction. Either way I still dig it.