Art?? in Atlantic City??

So, the weekend before this last one, I went to Atlantic City for  a bachelorette party. Yes, it was almost everything a bachelorette party should be. But, I was amazed at the art I saw that amused me, intrigued me, or gave me the feeling of having a private joke with someone...

We went to Red Square for dinner, and I was amazed by the concept of a communist themed restaurant in the middle of a casino in Atlantic City! While the food was not my favorite, I loved the art they chose to display, aside from statues of Lenin, there were also great wall paintings of workers.

I loved the lamps and clippings pasted in the bathroom.



We had breakfast "the morning after" at the Bungalow Lounge & Restaurant, and when I went inside form the beachy outdoor seating, I discovered the below wall art.

A lovely and "authentic" ancient Greek frieze.

These items were pretty cool on their own, but this last piece took the cake for me. Titled "Summer,"  this statue by Anthony Frudakis off the Atlantic City boardwalk commissioned by the Tropicana depicts a man in swim trunks running along side a woman in a bathing suit. Her foot is just coming up from the surf, and his hand clasps her waist. With lively leaps, this couple could be said to embody summer love and summer fun at the beach. I feel that you could interpret this work two ways. Either the man and woman are young and in love and running through the surf, or he is pursuing the object of his affection through the surf, the lady an unwilling participant. My friends on this trip all took the first stance--why do I see something sinister in this sculpture?

The energy of this piece and the general stance and motion reminded me of Bernini's Apollo and Daphne. Sure, it is not a direct quote, but I definitely think the artist had that famous sculpture somewhere in his mind. And that's how the echo of sinister got into my mind!


I suppose, in the end, the art in Atlantic City makes you feel the way it was designed to make you feel. You are surrounded by the vague notion of myth and timelessness. You are anywhere and everywhere all at once, but are only partially aware of this sensibility as you travel from one culture, history, country to another, from the beach to the perpetual sunset interior of a world-within-a-world hotel and casino.


Kitsch and camp reign, but for a few moments, you become incredibly drawn in to the magic of the scene....that manufactured mythos among the sand and surf and $5.99 omelette specials...your memories filled with enchantment and the nagging, but temporary thought, "Why did I ever want to leave?"

--Lael