Comments on: The Island

The Island

fixedgear — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:53:41 -0800

Hugo Chavez owns it. New Jersey controls it. Developers and environmentalists covet it. And one brazen trespasser wants us to pay homage to its forgotten king. Welcome to Petty's Island, a fin-shaped slice of strange, in the middle of the Delaware River.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:07:11 -0800

Aerial view.

By: IanMorr

IanMorr — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:12:16 -0800

Things I thought I'd never say: Well done Hugo Chavez

By: stenseng

stenseng — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:17:05 -0800

Don't do me like dat.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:24:32 -0800

What, no Google Streetview? Well, I guess Bing Maps bird's eye view will have to do (pan right for winter trees, pan left and up for more spring/summer). See also: Old-timey Terraserver view.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:31:27 -0800

"It's supposed to look like one of those commemorative plates for royal families, like for Princess Diana and Prince Charles," Riley explains. Awesome.

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:37:01 -0800

Here's a fun slideshow and article about the performance discussed at the opening of the linked article in the FPP, if anyone's interested.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:48:09 -0800

awesome story.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:52:56 -0800

Duke Riley's website. Pitifully overwired bit-hipsters will recall his submarine, which the article touches upon.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:55:41 -0800

I am filled with lustful desire for one of Riley's works on paper, or, I suppose, flesh.

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:15:22 -0800

I am filled with lustful desire for one of Riley's works on paper, or, I suppose, flesh. I agree mwhybark, when I first came across that Art in America article back in November I cursed every art and performance mailing list I subscribe to for not alerting me to Those About to Die Salute You sooner. Thank god for metafilter, I have a full week now to figure out if I can get to Philadelphia for this opening.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:20:30 -0800

For anyone interested in exploring the island, keep in mind that you have to drive through Camden, NJ. Camden, in case you didn't know, has the highest crime rate in the country. That's right. Worse than Detroit. Worse than Newark. The school system and police departments were so bad they had to be taken over by the state. Three of its mayors have gone to jail for corruption. Camden makes the country quakes.

By: el io

el io — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:22:39 -0800

"We've been surprised throughout the process," says Lauri Cielo, program director at the Historical Society. "We're prepared to do whatever he wants, but so far he doesn't have anything planned for the evening. That's quite a lot of leeway to give someone who describes his art as: 'breaking the law'.

By: desuetude

desuetude — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:50:40 -0800

Thank god for metafilter, I have a full week now to figure out if I can get to Philadelphia for this opening. I could get behind A Very Artistic Meetup for this.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:56:03 -0800

Hairsplitting: It's right on the border, but I'm pretty sure that the bridge that connects NJ to the island is actually in Pennsauken. It's guarded, anyway. Go by boat, or better yet, go by submarine.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:07:44 -0800

"Now owned by Venezuela's CITGO Petroleum Corp. — which used it as an oil refinery until 2001, and now rents it out to the Trailer Marine Transport Corp." That explains all the, umm, trailers on the island. Pitifully overwired bit-hipsters will recall his submarine... If reading metafilter makes me an overwired bit-hipster, then I, sir, am guilty. For anyone interested in exploring the island, keep in mind that you have to drive through Camden, NJ. Travel by sea! On preview, what fixedgear said.

By: johnjreiser

johnjreiser — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:44:43 -0800

Even in the 1930s, the island had a refinery. @Civil_Disobedient: The real reason you should discourage people from attempting to visit it is that the bridge is guarded and you need access to cross it. Camden has it's problems, but the downtown is an interesting mix of 80s era failed gentrification and current attempts (that might have stood a better chance if the economy hadn't tanked) at renewal. I've never had a problem in Camden. I've even conducted a Light Rail/Bike tour of the downtown. It's not that bad, just don't hang around after dark.