The Crucial Role of Arts in the Time of Global Crisis
Earlier this month I was part of a panel discussing the crucial role of arts in a time of global crisis hosted by CIMA Gallery.
Archive for year: 2020
As Far as the Eyes Can See, 2020
AS FAR AS THE EYES CAN SEE, 2020
Cor-ten weathering steel and granite / 24 x 48 x 18 ft / Commissioned by Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
I wanted to share with you a new public project in Lubbock, Texas. As Far as the Eyes Can See is a site-specific sculpture commissioned for the newly renovated Weeks Hall at Texas Tech University.
Two colossal rings of rough-cut granite stone are placed near and parallel to each other. They are made of recycled curbstone from old cities and roads. A branch made of Cor-ten weathering steel hovers above the stone rings connecting to them at their apex forming a canopy. From a distance it is an object and an image, but as we enter the sculpture it becomes architectural and spatially engaging.
The twin stone circles suggest wheels, movement and physical motion, but can also be read metaphorically representing the circles of natural cycles. The stone rings remind us of two massive frames that offer alternating views of the surrounding landscape. The sculpture becomes a lens into and out of the campus inspired by the curiosity of inquisitive minds, asking students to look further than the limits they see before them.
Tappan Zee, 2020
TAPPAN ZEE, 2020
Cor-ten weathering steel and granite / 13 x 21 x 3 feet / Located on the Esposito Trail, Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in Nyack, NY
I wish to share with you a new public project for the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in South Nyack, NY. With galleries and museums currently closed and the art world switching to online programming, public art remains an accessible cultural venue that can be enjoyed while social distancing. If you are in the area, I hope you will find the time to visit the piece in person.
Tappan Zee is a site-specific public sculpture installed along the Raymond G. Esposito Trail, a pedestrian and cyclist path at the landing of the bridge in South Nyack.
A row of seven abstracted steel figures carry a stone canoe alongside pedestrians and bicyclists, in a shared metaphorical journey in procession towards the Hudson River. This sculpture pays homage to the Native American Lenape and their history along the river, while also symbolizing the value of collaboration in crossing rivers, building communities, and reaching new horizons. The title, Tappan Zee, references the original bridge built at this location crossing the Hudson at one of its widest points. The title combines “Tappan,” after the Native American tribe of the region with “zee,” the Dutch colonizers word for sea.
The work was commissioned by the New York State Thruway in partnership with ArtsWestchester and the Arts Council of Rockland.
For more information visit: https://mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov/explore-public-art
Ilan Ilan, 2020
ILAN ILAN, 2020, is a public sculpture created for the Ilan Gal-on Plaza in front of the Sapir building in the diamond bourse area of Ramat Gan, Israel. The duplicity in the title is partly because we both; the reason of the work, and the creator of it, carry the name Ilan which means “young tree” in Hebrew.
The work is made of stainless steel and glass. It rises out of an ecological water pool in front of the glass high-rise building to a height of 3.70 m. (12’) Each of the two elements are 5m. (16’) wide.
The image resembles two wide canopied desert Acacia trees leaning toward and slightly touching one another. Some will see in the angular shape, color, and translucent quality, a reference to the cut diamonds dealt with in the backdropping building. In this urban setting, the connection between the natural beauty of desert trees, diamonds and the modern industrial solution of “curtain architecture” is the essence and aesthetic of the work.
The House in the Boat the Boat in the House, 2019
The House in the Boat The Boat in the House, 2019
Boat: wood and steel; Barn: concrete, stone, red bricks, red tile. 40 x 58 x 24 feet
Installed at the Gut Holzhausen Estate, Nieheim, Germany.
The House in the Boat The Boat in the House is a permanent site-specific installation located in a working cow pasture. The work utilizes an existing barn and oak wood culled from the surrounding forest. This work creates a play between two images, the house and the boat. A house is a place with roots bound to the earth, a shelter of stability and protection. A boat is a seagoing vessel that takes us to the other side of the ocean, to the unknown. It conveys the inner human struggles that most of us share: the conflict between stability and dream, between security and fantasy or adventure. For more information about visiting Gut Holzhausen, see their website http://www.gut-holzhausen.de/.