KING BABY

WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL WHAT

My attention was first pointed at king baby by an art school kid from North Dakota.

He texted me once when he heard a hot couple talking about king baby on the train. I asked him if it was interesting. He just texted back, "It was hot."

I don't know anything about king baby. Nothing at all.

Probably big on Insta but I'm an old man and I haven't looked.

Someday someone will tell me about king baby on the street.

But I haven't unlocked that part of the library yet.

I like the spaces king baby chooses. And the way they fill space. Simple and punchy. An alien amongst aliens.

Also, I love how much they get around the city.

Think about the effort and time it takes to move around the city this much, to pick a spot, to execute. This is sophisticated creative process. Something more than just painting in the room (or writing at the desk).

Victor Hugo said the book killed the building. Because after the printing press, you didn't have to build a cathedral and etch the story in stone.

But even though books are way easier, people still tell stories with their buildings.

Like any artist, they have a program and a point of view.

If you have a pile of money, you tell your story with a building. And if you don't have a pile of money, you tell your story on that building.

Both processes are equally valid.

DF

Compiled late night in The Well, edited next day at NYPL at Lincoln Center.