The latest Public Art Fund sculpture, one of our 11 art installation picks to visit this month, is now viewable at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the entrance to Central Park at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue. Mark Manders’ Tilted Head is the largest sculpture created by the artist to date: an oversized half-head sculpture with a clay-like appearance although it is entirely made of bronze. It was designed to “alter our perception and spark the imagination”, writes the Public Art Fund, “It might suggest an incomplete model, abandoned in the artist’s studio, if not for the fact that its colossal size and civic location lend it the air of a grand monument.”
Tilted Head as seen from the back.
The juxtaposition of the crumbling head and the sturdy objects are part of Manders’ signature style of creation. His fascination with the human form and abstract positioning of different objects are seen throughout his works. Additionally, the inclusion of wooden slats on the unfinished side of the structure are also a common thread with all of his works, as he tends to include wooden elements to contrast the human ones. On the backside, two metal chairs and a suitcase seem to “support” the work, but are deliberately reduced in size.
Tilted Head as seen from the side.
Exhibit label at Central Park’s Scholars’ Gate
Tilted Head can be seen from March 6th to September 1st, 2019.
