EDITORIAL

FALL 2009

In late autumn of 2008, sculptor Angel Orensanz and two directors of the Angel Orensanz Foundation, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, visited Governors Island for the first time. The172-acre Island, once a working military instillation, has been in the process of reinventing itself since the U.S. Coast Guard decamped in 1997.

When we arrived at the island by a ferry, which departs from the tip of Manhattan, Lynda Realmuto, Director of Special Events for the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), was waiting for us at the dock. Since the ferry, which is available during the summer season only, moved quickly and silently through the harbor for the ten-minute ride, somebody mentioned that this experience was like speeding through the Canal Grande in Venice to reach Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. It was almost like in a scene from Thomas Mann’s haunting novella Death in Venice, which was made into magical film many years ago.

Throughout the summer of 2009, we created a temporary instillation of the Angel Orensanz Summer Museum on Governors Island where we were pleased to present a highly select show of Angel Orensanz’ drawings and translucent photographs. Over thirty thousand visitors came to the Orensanz Summer Museum. To complement the exhibit there were a number of collateral events, including panel discussions about Orensanz’ extensive body of work. The panels were comprised of scholars and visual artists. In addition, poets, musicians, community leaders and writers from Manhattan used our temporary museum as a venue to explore their art and to entertain visitors. We were able to accomplish this immense effort through shared support from the Governors Island Conservancy, the Governors Island Alliance and groups and individuals involved in bringing Governors Island back to life.

Once the museum ended its summer of art and culture, the crowds returned to their ordinary New York lives to work and to urban anxiety. The idyll was over. Last week, the directors and volunteers of the Angel Orensanz Foundation took the ferry for one last time to gather all our equipment, art and memories. Now we are back in our 1849 home in Norfolk St. and we are re-energized as if returning from the mountains in New Hampshire or from surfing in Malibu. When the ‘splendor in the grass’ fades and the glory of the summer roses wither, we should fear not. Glory remains in the memory.

Derek Bentley