Wednesday, October 6, 2021 – LOTS OF NEW ART TO SEE ALL OVER THE CITY
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021
487th ISSUE
NEW PUBLIC ART
INSTALLATIONS
IN NYC
OCTOBER 2021
FROM UNTAPPED NEW YORK
Green bear cub from the new origami-inspired sculpture series Hacer: Transformations. Photo by Alexandre Ayer. Courtesy of DiversityPics for the Garment District Alliance.
As summer bleeds into fall, new public art installations offer an enticing excuse to explore the city. From the Stapleton Waterfront in Staten Island to the bustling lights of Times Square, over a dozen new art installations are open for viewing. This October, be sure to check out Hacer: Transformations’ colorful origami-inspired sculptures, Jeff Kasper’s mural Soft Spots, and the outdoor photo gallery Inside Out: NY Together at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. In addition, keep reading to learn more about art installations still up from previous months.
No Less Than Everything Came Together by Marcel Dzama at the Bedford Avenue Station. Photo by Kris Graves.
As an additional pop of color, the MTA has unveiled Queens of the Night and No Less Than Everything Comes Together, two permanent mosaic series inside the 1st Avenue and Bedford Avenue L train stations. Created by artist Katherine Bradford, Queens of the Night serves as a tribute to the creatives and essential workers who ride the L train daily. Located in the East Village at the 1st Avenue station, the ethereal figures in Bradford’s work come together to inspire viewers to consider the outward expression of their own interior vivacity. One of the most striking panels from Queens of the Night is “Superhero Responds,” portraying New York’s essential workers in the style of Superman. Situated in Williamsburg at Bedford Avenue, No Less Than Everything Comes Together features theatrical fairy-like figures under the sun and moon. Created by Marcel Dzama, scenes depicted in No Less Than Everything Comes Together are populated with elegant ballet performers, many of whom are adorned with the black-and-white costumes typically worn by NYC Ballet dancers. Scattered throughout the mosaic series are numerous characters representing infamous Brooklynites including Bugsy Siegel and Captain Jonathan Williams — the founder of Williamsburg.
During October, Times Square Art will present Fuzz Spiral by Jeremy Couillard. The futuristic animated video will be part of the Times Square Arts Midnight Moment series, airing across 75 electronic billboards throughout Times Square from 11:57 a.m. to 12:00 p.m every day. Fuzz Spiral depicts a rat-dog witch and reptilian mutant playing a video game — the short film was created for the new video game Fuzz Dragon, created by Couillard in June 2021. Over the course of three minutes, the two characters are sucked into a swirling vortex created by a hypnagogic machine placed between them. Once inside, they are taken into a phantasmagorical simulation where they take on different forms and styles as they travel throughout the gamescape. In conjunction with Fuzz Spiral, Daata will present Sasquatch Sex Amulet and Other Objects from the Fuzz Spiral, an online exhibition and merch store featuring exclusive limited edition artworks, NFT’s, t-shirts, and aluminum prints.
“This exhibition is a little store of digital and physical objects that relate to the world inside the video game and reflect on the panoramic screening of the game world in the nighttime atmosphere of the hyper commercialized, bright light whirl of Times Square,” Couillard says.
Every One by Nick Cave at Transit Times Sq 42 St Station. Courtesy of MTA Arts & Design.
Inside the new 42nd Street Connector between Times Square and Grand Central is Every One, the first of a three-piece installation by artist Nick Cave. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design, the installation was created as part of the 42nd Street Shuttle reconstruction and reconfiguration project, costing the city more than $250 million. The figures were made from recomposed source photos of soundsuits taken by James Prinz, which were then interpreted in glass for display on the subway station’s walls.
Every One’s design features a series of figures wearing colorful soundsuits — costumes that camouflage the shape of the wearer. Taking inspiration from African art traditions, ceremonial dresses, and haute-couture fashion, soundsuits are unique in that through covering the entire body, they conceal the wearer’s gender, race, and class, which eliminates audience judgment throughout the performance. Throughout the installation, the figures can be seen jumping and twirling along the wall, with their suits swaying as if moved by the wind. The other two parts of Cave’s installations, Each One and Equal All, will be installed next year at the new shuttle entrance and on the center island platform wall at Grand Central Terminal respectively.
Jim Rennert: In New York is a series of 10 public sculptures created by artist Jim Rennert. Located at various points throughout Midtown Manhattan from 34th Street and 2nd Avenue to 55th Street and 6th Avenue, the sculptures represent recognizable feelings and attitudes of working men and women. Given their prime location in the bustling heart of New York City’s business district, Rennert’s sculptures offer passersby a sense of calm and optimism. Examples include a figure pausing to look at his watch in contemplation, and another sitting on a bench waiting. One of the most prominent figures from the installation includes a towering sculpture of a businessman gazing upwards into the Manhattan skyline, reminding viewers that any dream, regardless of how improbable it may seem, is possible.
In addition, Jim Rennert: In New York will include a selection of new works by the artist on display at the Cavalier Gallery on 57th Street. Rennert’s public sculptures will be on view through December 2021 with the feature gallery exhibition running until October 30, 2021
Throughout Lower Manhattan, the public-artspace nonprofit ArtBridge has turned 65 lamp posts into temporary art installations exploring the theme of resiliency. One selection of featured work includes Dances of New York City by Frances Smith. As the name suggests, Smith’s work features breathtaking illustrations of dancers atop colorful backgrounds of key New York City landmarks and iconographies such as the Brooklyn Bridge and subway entrance. With 10 total illustrations, Dances of New York City highlights traditional dance techniques while simultaneously showcasing relatable New York moments such as the “Pizza Soca,” “The Village Cross,” and “Upper West Side Swing.”
Another featured work on display is Geo Grid by painter Michelle Weinberg. Geo Grid expertly utilizes the cylindrical shape of the lamp posts to highlight patterned art. Through the usage of vividly colored geometric shapes, Geo Grid showcases movement as it swirls upward. Art for the lamp posts was selected through a public design competition held this past summer that received more than 100 submissions.
Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham. Courtesy of ESI Design.
Located at 26 Fulton Street at the South Street Seaport, Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham transports viewers into the vibrant world of famed street photographer Bill Cunningham. Today, Cunningham is known for his photographs of world-renowned personalities such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Anna Wintour and Andy Warhol on the streets of Manhattan. Over six decades, Cunningham captured shots of celebrities across a wide variety of environments including fashion shows, social events, and on the streets of New York City. The exhibit is inspired by The Times of Bill Cunningham, a 2020 acclaimed documentary by Mark Bozek and hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as being “a snapshot of a life that leaves you grateful for having encountered it.” Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham was designed by NBBJ’s New York Experience design studio, ESI Design and co-presented by Live Rocket Studio founded by Bozek, Creative Edge Parties and Blue Note Entertainment Group.
To bring the photographer’s work to life, Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham will feature large-scale reproductions of Cunningham’s most iconic photos, video, and audio interviews — including artifacts like Cunningham’s iconic Biria bicycle and his trademark blue french worker’s jacket. Across two stories, 18,000 square feet and six distinct faces, the exhibit will also showcase a grand staircase where guests’ outfits will be digitally transformed into a one-of-a-kind fashion statement. Additionally, guests can pose on a simulated city crosswalk just like the subjects in Cunningham’s work or relax on a bench made of milk crates and a foam mattress — alluding to the artist’s bed in his Carnegie Hall studio. Launching September 12 for Fashion Week, Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham will run through October 30, 2021
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TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
SAILORS SNUG HARBOR.
HARA REISER GOT IT!!
THE STATEN ISLAND MUSEUM WITH IT’S WONDERFUL PARKLIKE LOCATION AT SAILOR’S SNUG HARBOR.
Text by Judith Berdy
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