Photos &Steve Fisher 09 Oct 2011 08:06 am
Public Sculpture
- Here are three pieces of Public Sculpture that New Yorkers see on a daily basis and probably don’t see as they move right on by.
One that stands out is this balancing elephant just off U-nion Square park.
1Spanish artist Miquel Barcelò has contributed a
gravity-defying elephant to U-nion Square. The 15,000 pound,
26-foot tall bronze sculpture, “Gran Elefandret”, has traveled from
Madrid and Barcelona and now sits amidst the transportation and
cultural bridge between Uptown and Downtown Manhattan.
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Brought to NYC by the Marlborough Gallery in conjunction with the
U-nion Square Partnership, the elephant balances on its trunk with
its four legs outspread above its sagging skin. “The Gran Elefandret”,
completed in 2008, is a continuation of the zoological themes found
in much of Barcelò’s former work. In addition, the detail of the
textured skin recalls the artists’ highly tactile, layered paintings,
many of which take the form of sculptures on canvas.
He draws inspiration from nature, from artists such as Jackson Pollock a
nd Willem de Kooning, and from his time in West Africa.
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Born in Mallorca in 1957, Barcelò has been an active artist since the 1970s.
He was a part of Taller Llunátic which voiced its socio-political opposition to
the Spanish government during the 1970s and also pushed the boundaries
of the established art world. Barcelò now collaborates with the Fundación
Vicente Ferrer and the Eyes of the World Foundation and participates in projects
for Sahrawi refugee camps. He has received international awards and
commissions during his expansive career as an artist.
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The “Gran Elefandret” will be on view until May 2012.
The second and more permanent part of New York is the enormous “Unisphere” globe that arrived with the NY World’s Fair back in 1964.
1This is pretty much what it looked like on opening day.
It sits in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, NY.
It was one of the few buildings not destroyed
when the Fair ended in 1965.
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This is pretty much what it looks like today.
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Steve Fisher sought a more intimate look in these remaining photos.
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Steve Fisher also photographed these tiny sculptures in the 14th Street train station at 8th Avenue. They’re bronze and just a bit out of the way, so they can be easily missed.
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Greenwich Village is probably half owned by NYU. There are endless numbers of housing units for teachers and students spread out all over the area. One little enclosed area off University Place had this quiet little walkway on which I found the following statue.
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It reads: This statue was presented to the City of New York
by the Mayor of Madrid, Spain in 1986.
Presented in Bryant Park before being entrusted
to New York University in 1989.
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Finally, we have this clock on Houston Street in the village that has a man waving. Very peculiar. This photo also came via Steve Fisher.
The story behind this building is simple.
It was named “Red Square” by Michael Rosen who built it.
Tibor Kalman was hired to complete it. The Statue of Vladimir Lenin
atop “Red Square” luxury apartments in NY City’s East Village is by
Sculptor Yuri Gerasimov and was Installed on the building in 1994.
on 12 Oct 2011 at 12:38 am 1.The Gee said …
This is going to seem wrong but I worry for those little subway statues. They seem so vulnerable.