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 .

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Anemones: An Air Aquarium

by Ezra Xia

Project: Anemones / Air Aquarium
Artist: Otto Piene
Material: Polyethylene, Air





This piece of public art was inspired by I.M. Pei's architecture at 88 Pine Street as a fish tank. Otto Piene created a space filled with giant lobster, fish, and many other sea creatures. They are made out of polyethylene, inflated with air. They stood on the ground and hang with strings, filling the space completely. They are either transparent or in red color. Viewers are suppose to feel unexpected and surprised. Also, the objects are inflated and deflated according to a timer, which would make the sea creatures seem alive since they are "breathing."



“When measured against the daily concerns of surrounding businesses, the Anemones project may seem frivolous, but it brings to an essentially urban situation a whiff of nature’s elements. For the passersby, Anemones is an unexpected lunchtime air aquarium. The theme of this venture is scale, along with movement,” said Piene.

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