12. THE POEM at Times Square
Opening this spring is THE POEM, an immersive public art installation by Cuban artist Raul Cordero presented through Times Square Arts. THE POEM is a large-scale sculptural tower featuring an illuminated text interior juxtaposed by a landscaped exterior of cascading mountain laurel foliage designed by Canal Gardens Inc. Standing inside the 20-foot sculpture, the viewer’s only line of vision becomes the open sky and a haiku written by poet Barry Schwabsky in black light. Serving as a continuation of Cordero’s extensive use of text and abstract imagery in his work, the sculpture is presented as a commentary on the distracting nature of modern life where technological advancements have increased access to information while inadvertently decreasing attention spans. THE POEM will be on display from April 8 to May 4, 2022.
“It’s difficult to create meaningful art for people in an era when their attention is scattered across so many mediums and technologies simultaneously,” Cordero said. “THE POEM seeks to stop time, reminding us that humans also have the capacity to invest in one thing at a time — like listen to “the secret dialogue of trees” (as put poetically by Reinaldo Arenas) and read a haiku, even when standing in the center of Times Square.”
