glow santa monica

glow santa monica
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

in theory, this sounded like it would be a great idea, but i don't think the organizers or the city of santa monica anticipated the masses of people that would all be flocking to the event. i was really looking forward to experiencing art unlimited by the confounds of a museum environment--art that could activate and be activated by people and space. unfortunately, there were just too many people. the ratio of people to experiences was off and made for a very bad experience.

first, we spent at least half an hour trying to find parking. if this were in a city like san francisco, maybe it would be normal, but this is santa monica. people here don't really use public transit, so everyone was in cars all trying to get into the public lots. the numerous parking structures weren't enough. when we finally found a private parking structure that didn't charge an exorbitant fee, we were not told until we had driven in that they closed at midnight and we couldn't turn around. a total rip off.

it would have been nice if the different installations had the brief descriptions that were on the website, otherwise, it was really difficult to tell what was going on. much of the work was conceptual, and with conceptual work, i feel people could better appreciate the work if there is some information about it. it doesn't have to be a drawn out explanation. the one or two lines that were on the website would have been sufficient. otherwise, all you can go on is what you see, which wasn't a whole lot.

the beach wasn't too crowded compared to the pier, but the size of the installations compared to the spectators made it difficult to appreciate. i thought the water feature with the projected abstract imagery was interesting visually and a good size to be viewed from far away, which is what you'll be with that many people. everything else had too many people clustered around to see.

we tried to make our way to the pier, but the stairs were packed. when you squeeze people together like that, it doesn't make for a pleasant experience. not everyone is going to be considerate or apologetic when they ram their bike into you or scream in your ear at the top of their lungs. the pier was covered with people. mardi gras wasn't as packed as this. then it was time to move our car. we decided we couldn't take the hassle or the people so ended up leaving.

even though my experience was negative, i'm giving the event 3 stars because this was their first time, and i understand how difficult it could be to estimate turnout. i also think that cities should be more active in promoting art for the masses. it's so rare for cities to support art events on such a grand scale. it needs to be better thought out and planned for. if this had been over the course of a few days, maybe it wouldn't have been so crowded. they could charge admission to pay for the cost of better managing the parking situation. i'm glad that i made the trek, but disappointed the situation created made it nearly impossible to see and experience everything. i hope this fiasco (and the many forthcoming complaints) do not deter them from planning for future events like this but that they learn from this particular situation.