10. Nari Ward: G.O.A.T. at Socrates Sculpture Park
Nari Ward, ‘G.O.A.T.s,’’Nari Ward: G.O.A.T., again,’ 2017, Courtesy the Artist and Socrates Sculpture Park, Image by Nicholas Knight.
How does hubris affect human identity and the environment? Nari Ward explores this topic in his solo exhibition, Nari Ward: G.O.A.T., again. The exhibition, which is Socrates Sculpture Park‘s first presentation of a single artist in its history, consists of six artworks created on site. G.O.A.T. (an acronym for Greatest of All Time) will bring to the garden a flock of goats, cast from lawn ornaments, made of concrete, sand, fiberglass, pigment, rebar and mixed media. They will measure 32″ x 10″ x 72″ each.
The visual anchor of the exhibit will be the huge signage which reads Apollo/Poll, with the letters A & O in Apollo blinking on and off (spelling out poll, and the red neon letters similar to the Apollo Theater in Harlem). It is created from steel, wood, vinyl, LED lights, and measures 12 x 4 x 30 feet. The sculpture Scapegoat is created from steel, wood, concrete, tire tread, fire hose, and will measure 40 x 12 x 12 feet. The Bipartition Bell was created with steel, wood copper and a goat bell, and will measure 11 x 3 x 14 feet. Shun-Light was created from steel, wood, glass bottles, tar, aluminum paint, and lights. It will measure 11 x 11 x 14 feet. Finally, the Broadway Billboard (vinyl) will measure 10 x 28 feet.
The Artist, Nari Ward, was born in Jamaica and resides in New York. He most recently exhibited Smart Tree on the High Line, and participated in the group exhibit, Spots, Dots, Pips and Tiles at Hunter East Harlem Gallery.
Nari Ward: G.O.A.T., again will span the five acres of the Park from April 29 to September 4, 2017. Socrates Sculpture Park is located at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City.