Photo Credit: Roving Rube. Viewpoint: Central Park west of the Mall; 2/28/02 1:09 PM.

Notes (Roving Rube): Even from afar (In Context), this particular Central Park tree did not seem quite kosher. The Rube's first thought was that it was a real tree wrapped in Reynolds Wrap.

It is in fact a 2 1/2 ton stainless-steel sculpture by Roxy Paine, part of this year's Whitney Biennial: every two years, if the Rube has it right, the Whitney Museum presents what it thinks are among the best new artworks, provoking a furor among critics, artists, and the public.

What the Rube finds particularly exasperating about New York is that no one bothered to tell HIM that this really neat tree was here, he just happened to run across it. And then when he read the label (Detail), they just happen to mention there are four other possibly equally neat sculptures scattered elsewhere around the park. So TYPICAL -- for every great thing you see in Manhattan, it just makes you realize there are four, no four HUNDRED great things you are missing out on at this very moment.