in this weeks economist there is a review of an art exhibition/tour taking place in nyc until july 27th. its at the lincoln center. well, its actually a walking tour of new york city and takes in some things that one wouldnt normally see on a tour. here are some excerpts from the article.

ninety dollars is a lot to pay for a city walking tour. but theatre enthusiasts are flocking to see deborah warner’s performance piece “the angel project”

with its nod to the wim wenders 1987 film, “wings to desire”, in whihc angels look out from berlin’s high-rise buildings and occasionally swoop down to help people in distress. ms. warner’s theatrical walk is a ticket into some of new york’s hidden treasures. it begins on roosevelt island, in a field that offersa magical view of manhattan which few people – even new yorkers – will have seen. from there, it is a short subway ride to the first site, an abandoned and miserable walk-up apartment with a broken electric heater- next is a 27th floor loft space carpeted with white feathers which are lit by naked bulbs, and there are also two rows of metal lockers each marked with the name of an angel. propped up in a corner is a worn postcard depicting the baptism of christ.

instead of the to-be-expected pornography in a 42nd street peeporama, large boxed of bibles and korans invite the visitor to contemplate the temptations of religion. in the balcony of the disused, yet still beautiful, liberty theatre, a winged angel appears. an elderly bearded man stares, saint like, into the middle distance while on the floor lies the body of a man. dead or asleep, one does not know.

mozart booms from speakers at the last destination – the 63rd of the magnificent chrysler building – while a black angel sleeps swetly on the floor. in one room a table is voered with stacks of bibles, korans and milton’s “paradise lost”. a middle aged man sits by an open window, and stares out. a young man crouches by another open window, suggesting a possible suicide or mabye an angelic flight. the vista from the top of the building is overwhelming – at once beautiful and terrifying. the feeling in these rooms, filled with the exalted voices of a choir and the presence of the young men, suggest the quietsioning, tormented world of a dostoevsky hero. most shocking are the open windows. an open window high up in a skyscraper is most uncommon – perhaps even illegal. but it is for each member of the audience to decide if it is open to let the angels in or out

doesn�t that sound incredibly cool?. i can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been like at the final destination, looking out the windows, mozart playing, imagery of angels. lucky new yorkers!