Beautiful Later
In 2011, New York City’s CitiPond in Bryant Park changed liquor distributors and needed artwork to replace the vintage alcohol posters that used to decorate Celsius, the heated outdoor restaurant and lounge at their skating rink. Mac and his brother, Harrison, created two paintings each to decorate the interior/exterior space. CitiPond provided us with 4 ft. x 4 ft. PVC sheets to paint on.
Several days before the paintings went on display, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers, passed away. His work had been instrumental in our lives. We decided to title our work after Mona Simpson's quote from Steve Job's eulogy – “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”
The paintings excited visitors and remained on display through the winter. Early in the new year, we were saddened to learn that the extreme fluctuations between the heat lamps and exterior cold caused the PVC sheet to crack, resulting in the destruction of all four paintings. “It was a truly worthwhile experience,” says Mac. “To be able to see our artwork as a backdrop and catalyst for so many special experiences and memories – it changed the way I thought about what I wanted to do.”
