Michael Armstrong and his friends are definitely our kind of tourists. They were looking for an "only in New York" kind of place and understood that "old and 
crappy" is good! Michael says his stay at the Chelsea was one of the greatest experiences of his life.
What brought you to the famed Chelsea Hotel?
i was planning my first trip to new york (along with 3 friends) and started to research
hotels. to be honest, i wasn't even considering the chelsea. one of the friends i was going with suggested we stay there. of course i had heard of the chelsea, but for some reason i never considered it. as a side note, i went to some site that has hotel ratings by the people that've stayed there, and the chelsea was a mixed bag. most said they liked the atmosphere but that it was "old and crappy", as one of them put it. so reading those ratings is what made me want to try the chelsea. i thought "the only thing they're saying is bad about the chelsea is that it's old." well, the whole reason i love new york is that it retains it's history, doesn't tear it down and start new (for the most part). i wasn't looking for a holiday inn or the mariott. i wanted a real, only in new york, kind of a hotel.
Has your art been inspired by any former or current residents?
looking over some of the famous people that've stayed at the chelsea, there are some names that stand out. i wouldn't say these people influence my art, but definitely inspire. robert crumb: a great character. i love his outlook on life, his taste in music, and his art. william dekooning & jasper johns: i would say they inspire me because i hate their art so much that it really pushes me to create what i think is good art. diego rivera: this guy on the other hand was a great artist. he definitely has a small influence on my art. as does a lot of art and artists of the 30's. art deco is my pornography. it gets me more excited then almost anything. so to be able to walk down any given street and to see examples of art deco architecture is a major thrill for me, and just that vibe alone is what inspires my art.
Do you think the Chelsea has a creative spirit?
any place that is home to numerous artistic and creative people i would say has a creative spirit. that's the reason i love new york. the whole city has a creative spirit.
What was the best/worst thing that happened to you during your stay?
there was no key event that was either good or bad. but i can say that, as a whole, our stay in manhattan/at the chelsea was one of the greatest experiences of my life. just being in the city was an event in itself. being a lover of architecture, especially architecture from the 20's and 30's, to be in new york is like an orgasm for the senses. i wanted to get a lot of good shots of architecture and just the city in general. but in a place where every street is a photo op, it's a little hard to decide what to focus on. so i decided to limit my shots to things that were specific to our trip. and leave my more mass documenting of architecture and street life for when i move there next year.
thanks to the chelsea for a great stay. i'd recommend it to anyone.
michael james armstrong
san diego, ca (soon to be nyc!)
to see photos from my trip and examples of my art, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/starberrysweet/tags/thehotelchelsea/
Recent Comments