The Dark Side of the Westport Art Fair
Art fairs are a mixed bag of the known and unknown. Locally there was the just concluded Westport art show, and at the end of month, the Plaza Art Fair. Toss in your third grade grandchild’s “art” collection display and you have a broad spectrum of people and events to take in.
But as Cutest and I observed this past weekend, there’s much more to see, whether you are ready for it or not!
Canines! Why do folks feel compelled to leash up man’s favorite four-legged friend and drag it to an art show? Most puppies are well behaved and seldom utter a bark. The tinier critters now have their very own stroller from which to pant while their owners whisk them in and out of knee high traffic. The larger, some rideable, dogs weave stealthily through the human obstacle course, their eyes trying to find an escape route away from all of this mayhem.
Children! Why do many adult art patrons find it necessary to strap their toddler, some even younger and some already enrolled in first grade, in a stroller and barge through a people-laden street fair. Were the grandparents out of town? Was the regular baby sitter on strike? The facial expressions on many of the wheeled captives seem copied from those being held behind bars.
T-shirts! Some are whimsical while others should have been transferred to the rag box or if clean, given to a charity. Who cares if you attended that rock concert in 1999? Odds are, you didn’t but much later, you did buy it at a thrift store. The one that made us chuckle said “KANSAS - IT’S NOT THAT BAD.”
We get it. Artists walk to a different drummer. When going to an art fair many feel compelled to bring out their hidden “strange“ rather than hold it in until Halloween.
As a conclusion, the art was good, created predominantly by area artists though we definitely wondered who selected the winners. Cutest did purchase a couple of thing-a-ma-bobs that she liked. I, on the other hand, enjoyed watching the two-and-four-legged creatures flowing around me.
Can’t wait for the Plaza experience September 25th – 27th.
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