Photo courtesy of Douglaston Development
This summer’s art installations bring a lot of color and imagination to New York City. From sculptures in Rockaway Beach to telephone booths set up in Times Square and anniversary celebrations for Prospect Park and The Public Art Fund, here are ten not-to-miss art installations for the month of July (in addition to several pieces from April, May and June still on view).
11. The OY/YO Sculpture in Williamsburg
Brooklyn simply hasn’t been the same without the OY/YO Sculpture. Luckily, it’s back this month at the Williamsburg Waterfront, and was unveiled by NYC Parks and Douglaston Development LLC at the waterfront, on the esplanade of the North 5th Street Pier and Park, on July 13th. It will remain in its new home until July 2018.
Created by Brooklyn-based artist Deborah Kass, this signature sculpture recaptures iconic 20th century styles, with its own touch of women’s empowerment. Derived from urban and Brooklyn slang, OY/YO incorporates both the Spanish phrase “I am” as well as the popular Yiddish exclamation. It was originally created as a painting by Kass, as her response to Edward Ruscha’s 1962 painting OOF.
OY/YO first appeared in 2011 in the form of paintings, small sculptures, and prints. In 2015, it was commissioned by The Two Trees Management Company, which is the Dumbo-based real estate developer who also built the Domino sugar site in Williamsburg. And now, it has a new home in Williamsburg, waiting for New Yorkers to come back and visit.
10. The Connective Project in Prospect Park
Though it’s only on display till July 17th, this exhibit is well worth the visit. It features hundreds of pinwheels, some of which are made of art that honors the park. A distinctly human tribute to creativity and color, the installation is the result of a collaboration between the Prospect Park Alliance, AREA4, and Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Architecture & Design. It features pinwheels made of photographs, poems, and other creations by a diverse array of Brooklyn artists, who sent submissions in based on the prompt, “Share imagery based on your love for Prospect Park.” The pinwheels were created by GSB Digital, which painstakingly printed and folded each pinwheel.
9. Creative Time Presents Pledges of Allegiance
Last month, Creative Time launched the program, Pledges of Allegiance, with sixteen artists creating sixteen flags portraying a cause worth fighting for. The first in the series, hoisted above the Creative Time Headquarters in June, was the flag entitled RESIST by artist, Marilyn Mintner, with the same flag also flying above 67 Hudson Street (facing the Freedom Tower) and on the campus at the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa. This month, the flag Dignity Has No Nationality by artist Tania Bruguera is flying at the same three locations.
The project hopes to advance discussion on targeted issues of particular concern in our current political climate. Share your photos each month with the hashtag #PledgesOfAllegiance, or by tagging @CreativeTimeNYC.
8. Sea Paddles, Part of Arsenal Gallery Plant Patterns Exhibit in Central Park
The outdoor installation, Sea Paddles, was created in conjunction with Arsenal Gallery’s current exhibit, Plant Patterns. The colorful, painted, large sculptures are the work of artists Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao, and are a pulp/paper versions of their installation at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Along with its indoor counterpart exhibit, Sea Paddles will be on view in the Arsenal Gallery garden bed, across from the Central Park Zoo, until September 1, 2017. The Gallery is located at Fifth Avenue and 64th Street. Frezza and Chiao also have exhibits inside the Plant Patterns show.
7. Once Upon a Plaza in Times Square
Once Upon a Plaza. Image courtesy of Times Square Arts
Once Upon a Plaza, by artist Aman Mojadidi, is a timely, interactive installation addressing issues and concerns of immigration from fellow New Yorkers. According to the Pew Research Center, by the year 2065, one in three Americans will be an immigrant or will have grown up with immigrant parents. In the installation, Once Upon a Plaza, viewers are invited to step into one of three repurposed telephone booths, pick up the receiver and listen to personal stories — oral histories of immigrants living in New York. Written histories can be found in phone books attached to each booth, giving more information about the storytellers. in total, rhere are 70 different stories that last between two and 15 minutes.
Once Upon a Plaza was commissioned by and created in residence with Times Square Arts, and is located in Times Square at Duffy Square, 46th Street and Seventh Avenue. The installation will be on view until September 5, 2017.
6. What a Wonderful World Arrives in Tribeca Park
What a Wonderful World by artist Leonard Ursachi
Artist Leonard Ursachi has created an installation that he views as “evoking nests, birth, history, and nature.” What a Wonderful World is an 8-foot high by 5.5-foot in diameter, egg-shaped sculpture, woven from branches and featuring a sketch of the world map in pigmented cement, augmented by colored glass and shells at its broadest point. The two recessed “embrasures” have a stainless steel mirror set in each, and the piece is set on a 7″ high, circular step. You might remember the artist from his installations at the DUMBO Archway, and Fat Boy in Prospect Park.
Leonard Ursachi’s What a Wonderful World will be on view until December 15, 2017 at Tribeca Park, which was once part of the Lispenard Swamp. It is located where Beach Street and Avenue of the Americas merge.
5. On the Rocks 2017 at Rockaway Beach
On the Rocks 2017: An Exhibition of Sculpture is a group exhibition comprised of 16 sculptures, created by 15 artists at 14 sites adjacent to the newly completed boardwalk on Shore Front Parkway. Celebrating the spirit and beauty of the Rockaways, the exhibition runs from Beach 73 Street to Beach 108th Street.
On the Rocks 2017 is presented by 14 Sculptors Inc. with support from the Queens Council on the Arts, in partnership with the City Council and with public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The installations will be on view until October 9, 2017, with events, special programs and tours each month, all free to the public.
4. The Connective Project in Prospect Park
In celebration of Prospect Park’s 150th Anniversary, the 2.2 acre stretch of woods in the park’s northeast corner, known as the Rose Garden, will be filled with flowers — pinwheel flowers that is — each of which will be decorated with writing and images that reflect the park’s history and place within the community. The 7,000 pinwheels will be on display from July 7 to July 17 as part of The Collective Project, This will be one of the first movements of the Rose Garden rehabilitation effort by the Prospect Park Alliance.
Read more about the Rose Garden and The Collective Project here.
3. Earth Potential Arrives at City Hall Park
An invasion of large, colorful sculptures entitled Earth Potential have arrived at City Hall Park. Created by the artist Katja Novitskova, the seven flat-cut aluminum sculptures are part of the 40th anniversary celebration of The Public Art Fund, The images of terrestrial animals and organisms bring attention to human advancements, and worlds unseen by the naked eye. Earth Potential will be on view at City Hall Park, 43 Park Row, until November 9, 2017. The Public Art Fund continues its celebration in Brooklyn Bridge Park with Anish Kapoor’s Descension.
2. Winner of Young Artist Program at PS1, LUMEN
The Young Architects Program winner for 2017 is LUMEN, a structure by Jenny Sabin Studio which adapts to heat and sunlight. The one-million yards of digitally knitted fiber that make up the canopy display photo-luminescent color under sunlight and emit glowing light after sundown. LUMEN, which will serve as the setting for the 20th season of Warm Up (outdoor music series), “applies insights and theories from biology, materials science, mathematics, and engineering — integrating high-performing, formfitting, and adaptive materials into a structure where code, pattern, human interaction, environment, geometry, and matter operate together.” LUMEN will be on view at MoMA PS1 until September 4, 2017.
1. Sew and Sew, a Road Tattoo, in the Garment District
Sew and Sew, a 400 foot-long road tattoo by artist Steed Taylor
The Garment District Alliance, in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation, present Sew and Sew as this season’s installation. Two blocks totaling 400-feet have been closed to traffic and painted by artist Steed Taylor. The “road tattoos” are part of the Garment District Urban Garden, which is a summer-long expanded plaza featuring not only art, but also food, a beer garden, and seating. Sew and Sew can be found between 36th and 37th Streets, and between 39th and 40th Streets. The installation is part of a year-round public art program made possible through Arterventions, part of the NYC Department of Transportation’s Art Program, in coordination with the Garment District Alliance.
See more photos of Sew and Sew here.
Check out 12 unique ways to celebrate July 4th, or take a Fourth of July Fireworks Cruise. Tour the remnants of Gritty Old Times Square or take a Secrets of Central Park in a Walking Tour. Get in touch with the author at AFineLyne.
