Course Description

This course will investigate the ways in which artists have presented narratives in the public realm and the organizations that have made the presentation of those works central to their curatorial practices over the last 40 years. Focusing on recent works presented in New York’s public spaces by Creative Time, The Public Art Fund, the Percent for Art Program, Arts for Transit and other non-profits organizations, this course will look at what it meant to tell stories and open discourses that challenged or interrogated widely-held value systems, the events and the politics of their time. In addition to the specifics of current and other key works and projects, we will discuss the conditions that governed the development of public performance, temporary and permanent installations, the ways in which those works were influenced by public approval processes and governmental agencies, media coverage and community response. Each student’s final project will be an on-line proposal for an exhibition that conveys a “narrative“ developed in the context of this course, referencing other relevant works .

Friday, September 25, 2015

upper east side

Ezra Xia
Kun Yang
Wenqingao Lei

Upper East Side

Our group is assigned to discover the narratives of The Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the most affluent neighborhood in New York City. The neighborhood has the greatest concentration of individual wealth, and the “work” we observed reflect that. The first piece of work is called “Dama a Caballo V”. It was created by Manolo Valder in 2008. It is located in front of an apartment building (900 Park Avenue). We believe it is a decorative art piece, which intended to make the apartment/area more expensive. Similarly, the second piece of work we observed was “SideWalk”. It is a geometry design in the ground on the sidewalk of 1014-1018 Madison Avenue. The fact that a sidewalk is designed so refinely makes the place seem fancy and upscale. The third “work” is Hermes on Madison Avenue. The shop is also known for its costly handbags. Imaginably, shops on Madison Avenue are more extravagant than stores elsewhere even when they’re the same brand. They sell completely different products and the cost is uncomparable. The Upper East Side is very culture-concentrated. There are a large amount of Museums and Art Galleries in the neighborhood. The famous “Museum Mile” is located on the West side of the neighborhood, connecting the Upper East Side with the Central Park. Art and Education is very important and influential to the area. The Upper East Side also has the best private schools (Marymont and Lycee Francais) in the Manhattan. The Upper East Side is also a tourist attraction. Many people know the neighborhood from popular TV Show “Gossip Girl” and want to see what it’s like. They usually shop and walk the Museum Mile, making up part of the culture in the Upper East Side. Apart from the tourist and high-scale shops, The Upper East Side is very much a residential area. It is very costly, of course, the average cost for an apartment is 13million. The residents pays lots of attention on the environment they live in. For example, subways are not allowed in many parts of the neighborhood because of the noise it brings, it can also keep tourists on the commercial side of the town.


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