Public Art Proposal: “The Message”
By Adrianna Trusiak
I felt inspired by the MTA Arts For Transit idea of putting the word “optimism” on the metro cards. I actually remember when I saw the word on my metro card for the first time. I had a bad day and I was really tired, but them I turned around my metro card and saw “optimism” and I smiled automatically and my mood went up, just because of a simple word. My second inspiration is the street lamps’ mosaics around by the East Village designed by Jim Power. There are actually few of the mosaics left but I like that they are very colorful, positive and beautiful.
For my project I combined the both inspirations. My public art is called “The Message”. The project involves placing a small metal, clay or mosaic plates that would send positive messages to the people. The panels would say “hello sunshine”, “be happy”, “peace”, “breath”, “love your life”, “world loves you”, “look around”, “keep dreaming” and “dream”. There would be also plaques shaped as a heart and a circle with a smiling face. The plates would be very colorful, very 60s style. They wouldn’t be bigger than 10 inches by 3 inches. They would be placed on different things like bench, sidewalk, fence, poll, tree or stone. There wouldn’t be a lot of the signs around one place so that they are more mysterious, unique and special. The intended location for the project is McKinley Park in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. But if there were positive reactions to the project, it could be carried throughout the entire neighborhood, as well as to other neighborhoods and boroughs. “The Message” is targeted to the McKinley Park visitors, despite age or any other characteristic. If the project was carried to other locations, it would be available for everyone, but the intended audience would be the New Yorkers rather than tourists. The work should be permanent and it should be taken care off. Like with the MTA Arts For Transit, where they check the work at the train stations, there should be also people checking the signs every one or two months, to make sure they are clean and complete.
McKinley Park is pretty gloomy and sad place, I don’t see happy faces around there and I hope that the project with help to change that. The positive sign can alter people’s moods and bring smiles on their faces. Also, Bay Ridge is a “black and white” part of Brooklyn, you don’t really see a lot of colors around and I think the project would change that. The public art could also, work for the entire borough as well as other boroughs because it is something very universal. “The Message” would be available to everyone if they look around carefully. Most of the New Yorkers rush somewhere all the time but even when they rush, they can still spot that little colorful plate and smile. Also, the most popular color to wear in New York City is black. Most of the time on the street the only colors visible are grey and black, but the project can bring some color to the city. Even though the signs would be small, they would be easy to spot because of their colors contrasting with the surroundings.
Public Art Proposal
By: Kevin Zhou
For my public art proposal, I chose the Kings Highway train station on the N line as my location. Kings Highway is the name of a regular road, not an actual highway, in Brooklyn. Since much of the platform of the train station has a dreary, lifeless atmosphere, peeling paint and even some graffiti, I thought that it would be nice to innovate the walls of the platform and display some public art. The name of the train stop is very vital to the art. I propose that on the walls, there are small, colored glass mosaic tiles that are put together to form an English king walking on top of a suspended road (a highway), labeled Kings Highway. The name of the station, King’s Highway, would thus be represented in a direct artistic form. Some history would also be incorporated. Kings Highway is named after the county the street is in, Kings County, which was named for the King of England. The king should look realistic, but it should also resemble a stereotypical king, with the pointy crown, majestic robes, etc.
The wall would be a large mosaic panel where every 5 or so feet, there will be a mosaic medieval, traditional, English king in a new position so that when a speeding train passes the station, it looks as if you can see a king marching down the highway. You would see the king’s profile, with his fancy robes, a crown and a head held high, marching with a staff in hand. Behind each king, there could be people of different races that reside along Kings Highway. They would be marching behind the king, following triumphantly. Amongst the followers, there should be families walking together (a child holding hands with his or her parents) because the neighborhood is largely formed of families and their houses. There are also quite a few family businesses and stores as well. My inspiration for the art proposal was largely based on our visit to the MTA Art for Transit. We learned about the public art in many stations, but the one my public art proposal stems from is the art at the 66th Street/Lincoln Center station on the 1 line, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers by Nancy Spero. The art here portrays the neighborhood around station: the spirit of and varied artistic qualities of Lincoln Center and the Upper West Side and when you pass by on a speeding train, the art looks almost like a flipbook, with the divas and dancers moving.
I think that it would also be really interesting if under the suspended highway and king, there would be mosaic tiling work that resemble iconic places along Kings Highway: the gas stations, the pizzerias, the Keyfood Supermarket, the Walgreens and Rite-Aid, the diner, the bakeries, the public library, etc. The places would of course be lined up in the order that they appear on the actual Kings Highway.
Kings Highway stretches out a very long distance. There are two other Kings Highway stations, one on the F line and one on the B/Q line. The same public art can be installed in those stations, with the only difference being the iconic places below the highway. The places below the highway should be places that are closer to and more connected to the respective station. But in all stations, the intended audience is the subway riders of all ages, races, etc. that happen to get on or off the train at that station. It is meant for the people of the Kings Highway neighborhood to admire, enjoy and appreciate. The art is meant to portray the neighborhood in a fun way and it should be permanent because unless the name of the street is modified, the art will be relevant and applicable to the station and the neighborhood. The places under the highway may cease to exist at some point in the future, but keeping them there, even when they do disappear, preserves their history and impact on the community.
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I think that trashcans should be beautiful. Garbage is ugly, but if there was an attractive way to dispose of it, then people would be less inclined to litter, and more inclined to recycle. The idea of found art is to make such beautiful things out of discarded ones, so the disposal of these things should be infinitely more important and appreciated. An example is Celadon Remnants (2008) in which Jean Shin constructed giant mosaics of Korean vases out of cast-off and imperfect shards of potters.
So why not beautify the very source of the trash that makes found art? Why shouldn’t the process of disposal be aesthetically pleasing? A lot of cities that keep themselves much cleaner than New York have very modern and interesting public garbage designs, like Singapore and Tokyo. But New York is a city that is known for its great public artwork, and this should extend to its trashcans. Public art is even better when it’s functional—like the interesting benches put up by the MTA Arts for Transit. I think this should take place on Roosevelt Island, where I’ve noticed that there is a dearth of public artwork. Roosevelt Island’s general atmosphere is very pristine and functional. If I were to utilize it as a clean canvas for public artwork, I would want my work to reflect that atmosphere.
Trashcans that are shaped like animals would engender a very child-friendly atmosphere, similar to that of playgrounds. In the 90s, Henry J Stern, Park Commissioner of New York City since 1994, made plans to put animal statues in many playgrounds, saying that these statues, unlike most structures in parks are never vandalized. As a playground veteran, I have noticed this to be true. In addition, he felt that people are less likely to litter in areas with animal statues, since the statues obviously announce that a clean and child-friendly area is desired.
Animal trashcans would instill a similarly friendly vibe and be lower maintenance than the playground statues. In addition, from an artistic perspective, conceptually, people would be putting trash into the mouths of the animals, which would make the whole process of recycling fun and more satisfying. I toyed with the idea of giving them all names, to fuel the idea of recycling (i.e. “This is Pete. He likes to eat paper. This is Greg. He likes to eat glass. This is Terrence. He eats trash.”) But that seemed too infuriating, and might encourage children to consume garbage themselves. So while the idea of disposing waste in an interactive fashion seemed appealing, I felt that excessive anthropomorphizing in this case was not a good idea. I felt that the creatures that the garbage cans posed as should be a mixture of grotesque and cute, without being too much of either one. So that meant no cockroach-shaped garbage cans and also nothing resembling Hello Kitty or her companions. Large Sanrio images are terrifying anyway—there is a giant Hello Kitty statue, all white, on the Upper East Side.
If all these trashcans were in Roosevelt Island, it would make sense if they had a unifying theme, since the island is only about one square mile in size. Popular children’s book characters could make good trashcans (similar to the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland statues in Central Park, close to the Met). Some book characters that would make apt trashcans include the frog footman from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, the “Wild Things” from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, and the gentle Frog and Toad of Arnold Lobel’s imagination.
While I like the idea of bringing the characters of children’s imaginations into a mundane aspect of their everyday life, I worry that this would make the characters seem trite (and that they are already made trite by the uses of their image in popular culture). It would be nicer to have an artist design trashcans specifically for this purpose—but I do appreciate that the book characters bring their own personalities into play. Whatever images the artist created should have the same visceral quality.
Incorporating life into artwork is often a good way to bring life and spontaneity in activities that are usually mundane and purely functional, like throwing out a piece of gum, or commuting. This is evidenced by the many subway stations that incorporate personality-filled figures into their design—the ubiquitous tiny people at the 14th Street A train station, the large sea creatures that swim through the walls at the Museum of Natural History 81st Street B and C station. I think the intended audience of public art should be everyone—it is only considerate. Maybe children will be most intrigued, but everyone can appreciate a litter-free atmosphere. A clean environment, as we learned at the MTA Arts for Transit, is one where we feel safer and more comfortable.
Living in Harlem, it is intimidating walking back late at night to the Towers from the subway station. As a result, I would like to have illuminating public art in between the two locations. This public art would light up the place and give a sense of safety to people walking back after dark. Most people associate light with good things and safety. My public art idea would incorporate different sculptures of a family that are hollow, stick-figureish, and filled with light. The image of the family can give a sense of home for those of us that dorm. These sculptures would be scattered from 125th to the Towers. After I thought of this idea, I decided to browse the Internet to see if such forms of public art were already in use. I then found that the Living Objects sculptures scattered throughout various urban locations are very similar to my proposed public art. Brooklyn artist Jason Krugman created Living Objects.
Another light element I would like to add to the public art in Harlem would consist of lit up arches on either side of the road-attached to the side of a building and then the ground of the sidewalk. These arches would be the ones similar to those present at Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida. I think these public structures should be periodic and should be put in place every autumn and winter. During these seasons, the sun sets earlier and thus it is dark out earlier too. Also, since the weather is colder, there are fewer people out during the night. The luminescent public art would be perfect for this time to give reassurance to the local neighborhood people.
I live in Pelham Parkway, a small section in the Northeastern part of the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of the greatest city on Earth, New York City. I grew up here, lived here my whole life, and only moved out for the first time a month and a half ago when I came to the dormitories at City College. I live just a few blocks away from the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, some of the biggest tourist attractions in New York City off of Manhattan Island if not the biggest. These two famous public attractions have influenced my life greatly, I went to a camp at the Botanical Gardens as a young child, and have visited the Bronx Zoo more than 20 times, I go at least once every year. They are really not too far from each other, depending which exit you leave from you could feasibly walk between these two attractions. It is from this that my idea for a public works project is born.
My proposal for public art would be to provide a pathway between these two landmarks in the Bronx, and to create a transition between them. There is currently a park in that area, not spanning the entire distance because there is a highway between them, but a walking bridge could be built, making it possible to cross the Bronx River Parkway and get from the Bronx Zoo to the Botanical Gardens and vice versa.
I would plan to decorate the pathway between the Zoo and the Gardens with lots of animal topiary leading to some very pretty flower gardens or more topiary of bushes sculpted into the shapes of flowers. I would organize them in such a way as to provide a transition between the gardens and the zoo, beginning with the flowers and plant topiary on the end of the path at the Botanical Gardens, and progress to animals the closer one gets to the Bronx Zoo.
I want this to be a permanent Public Arts Project, there will obviously be maintenance required and general upkeep of the topiary will need to take place. I also want there to be benches placed along the path at regular intervals so that people could sit down and admire the beauty of the Botanical, as I would call it, or just to take a rest during the walk between the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens.
I want the Botanical Zoo to provide for an escape from the busy New York City setting. I feel that many Public Arts Projects in New York all have that same goal, however I want the Botanical Zoo to be set on a path, where people can bike, walk or even picnic on the grass next to the path, perhaps in the shade of a giraffe topiary. This path will give New Yorkers a respite, slightly north of Manhattan, but still right next to the 2 and 5 trains and the Metro North and not far from a multitude of buses. I think if done correctly this art project could become a beautiful addition to the greatest city on Earth.
I think that the last stop on the F train, the 179th Street station in Queens, would be an appealing place to display a work of public art. Because this station is very popular, I think it would be considerate if something was done to make the station more attractive. The work of public art I propose for this site is a set of murals along two of the walls, facing each other, entitled “The Wheels on the Bus (and Train) Go Round and Round.” The mosaic on one wall would be of people of all different ethnicities, races, and cultures coming up the stairs as they exit the train station, and then joining a line to wait for the bus. The other mural would show the same types of people leaving a bus, and then descending down into the train station. The buses would be coming from opposite directions, and the blue bus stop sign would display the numbers of the several buses that run right above the ground. The mosaics would be made of tiles similar to those used in Jack Beal’s “The Return of Spring” and “The Onset of Winter,” located on the wall of the 41st Street mezzanine. The colors and brightness of the 179th Street mural would also be similar to Beal’s work. I imagine the piece to be just as whimsical and lively as Beal’s piece, as even the ideas are similar.
I think these murals would be an interesting idea because they represent exactly what people do as they enter and exit the 179th Street station. I think it would amuse commuters who leave the station only to wait on a line for a bus to see a mosaic of people waiting for one as well. The piece relates to everyone and shows that most commuters share the same fate once they leave the station.
The murals would be depictive of real life (as well as make for a beautiful piece of work) if these different types of people were standing side by side, sharing something they all have in common—waiting for a bus to take them home each day. Because I see the work being made of durable tile, it would be a permanent piece. It would add personality to the otherwise bland 179th Street station.
The architecture at CCNY is the most artistic aspect of the campus’s appearance. Otherwise, the campus is not particularly scenic. Therefore, I am proposing public art for the public space that we all visit at least five times a week.
My public art idea is called “Trees of Knowledge at CCNY.” It combines artistic pieces with the limited number of trees we have on campus. Each piece would represent a different subject at City College.
I have specific ideas for certain subjects. For example, under a tree in front of Marshak, there would be a statue of Isaac Newton getting hit in the head with an apple that had supposedly fallen from that tree. I was inspired by some of the art at Hofstra University, which includes statues of famous intellectuals sitting beneath trees so that students can sit with them as they study. Although I doubt anyone wants to sit under a tree in front of Marshak, it would be entertaining for the physics students who walk by and be reminded that an apple will fall to the ground at 9.8 m/s^2.
Other sites for the art include trees in the quad, where students actually can sit, and trees in front of the NAC and Shepard Hall. For the history majors there would be a statue of George Washington, attempting to chop down a tree. For the environmental scientists there would be a statue of someone hugging a tree or simply a depiction of arms around the tree. For the English majors there would be a dummy of a parachuter up in a tall tree, as a reference to Lord of the Flies.
For the tree in front of the architecture building, a tree-house would be built. For practical reasons, this would not be a real tree-house. It would be a small model to serve as a work of art that symbolizes architectural skills. The architecture students who spend all night in the building will find this to be a pleasant sight that reminds them of their goal.
I don’t know how practical my idea for public art at CCNY is. Still, in my opinion it would be entertaining to see these somewhat humorous art pieces when glancing out the window during a long lecture. They would help students keep their major or career goal in mind and might even remind them of their class material.
Public art is an admirable yet often inefficient way to reach out to the population at large. Every day, individuals rush to complete their commute in a focused manner without taking in the objects and occurrences in their immediate surroundings. A perfect example of this particular situation is our city’s beautiful and durable subway art, which is sadly ignored or simply overlooked by quite a large number of our travelers. This is why I’d like to propose some less conventional, more performance-based public art located in and around the large, circular fountain in Washington Square Park.
In this preliminary, hypothetical situation, the interactive public performance begins with a few individuals from the crowd. They are dressed like everyday people, and are meant to seem as if they’ve only just decided that now is the moment to sing and dance in public. One performer begins the first act by going into the fountain. He or she may select to be on or in any part of it, depending on the weather and other circumstances. Actually standing in the water of the fountain is only required when a general cleanness of the water coincides with an acceptable temperature. As the first person begins to sing her solo into the head-worn microphone that is nearly invisible beneath her hair, others join her. Soon, it evolves into a full-blown musical, and the performers begin to involve audience members in the action. The level of involvement can vary, but it is suggested that willing audience members be given simple tasks so as to avoid embarrassment or a stage fright induced movement away from the performance. Musicians arrange themselves at regular intervals around the fountain to give each audience member the chance to hear the accompaniment. They are also dressed in regular street clothes, as if they’ve just been walking about and have decided to join in on the fun.
The piece being performed would have to be something new, written and produced by an amateur to capture the spirit of the moment. This musical should not be very rigidly structured and should be open to change based on what works in particular situations with varying audiences. Of course, the intended audience is very nonspecific in that it is comprised of the collection of tourists and locals that frequent the park. The project is meant for everyone, from the busy office worker taking a shortcut through the park to the gleefully playing six-year-old. The musical should be exciting, with no lack of crazy movement and vocal acrobatics, while also seeming so impromptu that the audience is left wondering if these people knew they’d be performing before they stepped into the fountain.
Although this work cannot be related to many existing public artworks because it stretches the definition of the term, it is reminiscent of the art we discussed in which people could basically play a room like a musical instrument because of the way it has been designed. This is because the participants from the audience can contribute to the musical in almost any way. The work should accomplish a lasting feeling of community and spontaneity in the audience that causes people to be freer and more excited about everyday activities. I’ve heard many people say that life should be like a musical, where emotion is expressed through a public song and dance. In my project, this fun idea can be put to the test. If it works, the project should be periodic while remaining unannounced on most occasions. Obviously, some advertisement for the performances would be more useful to the artists, but the majority of these musicals should seem impromptu in order to fulfill their original purpose.
Creative Time and the MTA Arts for Transit program have inspired me to think of a public art at one of my favorite locations in New York City. Bryant Park is a well-known public space located between 40th and 42nd streets and between fifth and sixth avenues. Many people visit Bryant Park for recreational purposes such as eating, playing ping-pong, reading, and talking with friends. Every winter, the park hosts an ice-skating rink open to the public, which is where I learned how to ice-skate. Because I work at a bakery near Bryant Park, I feel as if though I know the place well. I walk by the park whenever I have to take the train from Times Square to school and I noticed how relaxing and popular Bryant Park is. The park emits a feeling of community, and I want to propose an event that will bring the community together.
Inspired by the Bryant Park subway station where there are many literary quotes and the New York Public Library, I thought it would be exciting to have a short poem competition that everyone can join annually. The poems can be about anything, but preferably about Bryant Park or New York City. The best poems will be created into individual bronze stencils and will be placed on the ends of all twenty-five lampposts. These will be cylinder-shaped mounds and will have lights shining through the carved out letters during nighttime. Most lampposts are placed on the grass and some are placed on stone. The few that are on stone should be used as seating areas so that the bronze will become shinier every time someone sits on it, which is one fact I learned from MTA Arts for Transit. Since these will be used for seating, the letters will be carved on the side so that poems will not be degraded by people’s behinds. As for the rest of the mounds, the letters will be carved on top because the lampposts on the grass are not accessible to sit on. This way the letters will seem like they were written on the tree leaves above. If I want this image to appear on the leaves, this event should take place every spring. When spring ends, the art will be melted down to be recycled for next year’s winners.
From this public art, I want the public to acknowledge that everyone can build his or her surroundings. The public can also use these bronze mounds for functional purposes such as steadier seating than the usual, wobbly, green chairs. Most of all, I want the public to appreciate regular New Yorkers’ writing and empathize the same feelings as the poets; and this will strengthen the concept of a community.
By Jamie Mallette
The public space I have chosen is Central Park. In Central Park, there are many well-known sites that receive copious amounts of attention, but there are also lesser-known sites that are the playgrounds that dot the Park. Children and their parents populate these playgrounds, but I believe children should not be limited to playgrounds. There are spots such as Belvedere Castle and the Naumburg Bandshell that children would like to play on but might be scolded by their parents because those areas are highly trafficked and not meant to play on.
I propose that near sites that was mentioned above, playhouses for children be set up where they can play and learn the values of these imposing sites. For a small child, the size and foreboding nature of these buildings can be intimidating and unwelcoming. Also, a child growing up in the city may not have had a backyard to play in. If playhouses were set up for kids to play, then they could feel as if Central Park was their backyard. These playhouses will be set up in certain areas and focus on the specialty of that area. For example, a playhouse near the Naumburg Bandshell will focus on music and will have instruments that children can play with, make their own music and even put on little concerts.
Similar to this, a playhouse placed near Belvedere Castle could teach children about the history of the Castle, and to continue its traditions of scientific inquiry with instruments, which include telescopes and barometers. A playhouse near Delacorte Theater would allow children to dress up and put on plays of their own. Even the architecture of the numerous bridges and archways, are key features of Central Park. While children will not be learning about blueprints and the technical aspects of architecture, they would enjoy making replicas or designing their own bridges and tunnels out of popsicle sticks, especially if they get to eat the popsicles for the sticks.
This work would be periodic, as the playhouses would be used more in the summer and fall rather than in the winter with the low temperatures and snow. I think children would really enjoy the opportunities they will be given to make new friends and get involved with sites that may have been previously inaccessible to them. I would like this work to make children feel as if their backyard is Central Park. I grew up in New York all of my life, and I never had a backyard and while I was taken to some parts of the Park, I never knew which ones nor do I remember now anything about those places. I want the children who would play in the playhouses to get to know the places in Central Park, and they will always have a special connection to the Park even if they move away from New York someday.
