The forest and the trees analogy can easily be applied to the past and present in New York City.  For people who live here, the past is evident everywhere, and most know some of the multiple histories that make up the people who live in the city, but the specter that haunts is always in the present.  The energy here is very profound, and impossible to avoid, and it’s always based on where the citizens are, right here and right now.  Part of the rawness of the city is its immediacy, and it’s never easy to get over, but there’s probably no reason to try.  Coming here to look at the works of dead artists on the walls of museums has a very important role in how artistic personalities get shaped and nurtured.  But there’s a lot more to it than that.