FLIGHT - Public Performance Art Featuring Reenactment of Classic Staircase Scenes At Duffy Square's Red Stairs

Flight is an interactive public performance art created by Liz Magic Laser that took place at Duffy Square's red glowing stairs last Tuesday, Friday and yesterday. Six actors were commissioned to reenact staircase chase scenes from movie classics including Battleship Potemkin, M, Niagara, The Spiral Staircase, National Treasure, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, A History of Violence, Night of the Hunter, Marnie, Vertigo, The French Connection, Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Shining, Fatal Attraction, The Fugitive, American Psycho, The People Under the Stairs, Titanic, Scream, 28 Days Later, and Final Destination 4. The participating actors were Nic Grelli, Elizabeth Hodur, Liz Micek, Michael Wiener, Lia Woertendyke and Max Woertendyke. The event was sponsored by the Times Square Arts program of the Times Square Alliance.

"Empire" By Eva Rothschild

The new public art installed at the Doris C. Freeman Plaza at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue in Central Park is called "Empire." Irish artist Eva Rothschild (b. Dublin, 1971) created a monumental, multidirectional archway. Responding to the site, a point of transition between city and park, Rothschild has taken inspiration from the naturally arching canopy formed by Central Park’s mature trees. The linear structure takes root at ten points on the plaza, touching down lightly as its branching form rises above us. Empire creates a physical tension between its imposing volume and its spidery, intersecting elements, which are further broken up by irregular bands of color. With its pulsing visual energy, the sculpture suggests multiple images — perhaps the tail of a broomstick or a bolt of lightning. We are free to make our own associations. Rothschild’s chosen title, Empire, resonates with the location of her new work: the heart of the “Empire State.” At the same time, we might consider the sculpture as a playful counterpoint to the architectural tradition of the monumental arch, a structure often used historically to represent the triumph of an imperial power. (information from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation website).

COUNTING SHEEP by Kyu Seok Oh At The Broadway Plaza at 46th Street in Times Square

Kyu Seok Oh's art installation called "Counting Sheep" is now on display in Times Square through March 7 on the northern end of Broadway Plaza between 45th and 46th Streets. Spanning 36 feet long and 12 feet wide, the installation is comprised of 24 uniquely made paper sheep sculptures on 6” to 16” high platforms. All of the sheep are hand-made by the artist himself in a labor-intensive process involving natural and traditional materials. “I like to think that both paper and wood, though processed to be used as structural materials, are in fact very much alive as part of nature,” the artist explains. “A group of white paper sheep suddenly emerging from a corner of Times Square will create a contrast to the intimidating, chaotic atmosphere associated with that sleepless corner of the world. Soft, white, and standing together these sheep will invite the neon covered surrounding buildings and large excited crowds to relax, count sheep, and doze off a little.” The installation is presented by the Times Square Alliance, in partnership with the West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. (information from the Times Square Alliance website). The images above were taken on March 1, 2011. Kyu Seok Oh lives in New York City.

"I wanted to take the energy of New York City and create work that is unorthodox in method but is more direct and immediate. That is how I came up with the idea of working with paper and wood, materials deeply familiar to me since childhood. In Japan, traditional houses were made of mostly paper and wood. While both are used as structural materials, they are very much alive as part of nature. Wood stretches and contracts with the climate. Paper shields the indoors from the wind and the cold, but it also lets in fresh air and light from the outside. Both paper and wood insulate the indoors from the outside while simultaneously bringing in natural air. These subtle tricks of the materials are central to the beauty of Japanese aesthetics and culture. I want to convey this sensibility in my own work." - Kyu Seok Oh (from his website)

Follow up story: A few days after the installation, a woman "decapitated" one of the sheep with her foot. Read more at Gothamist where one of the photos above was used.

Will Ryman's THE ROSES In Full Bloom On Wintery Park Avenue

In his inaugural public art exhibition, artist Will Ryman's sculptures of pink and red rose blossoms, "The Roses" are installed at Park Avenue Mall between 57th and 67th Streets. The rose blossoms towering as high as 25 feet are made of stainless steel, fiberglass resin, automotive paint and brass. The public art exhibition runs through May 31, 2011.

Construction Site Art: "RENDERING LEONARD" by Helen Dennis

RENDERING LEONARD  is a public art installation created by artist Helen Dennis along the 200 ft of plywood wall that surround 56 Leonard Street (corner Church Street) in downtown Manhattan. It is part of the Downtown Alliance Re:Construction public art program initiative. 

From the caption of the installation:

Dennis’ work portrays ghostly traces of the surrounding urban environment around Leonard Street and beyond. Through layers of hand-rendered drawings exposed onto photographic paper, Helene manages to capture the energy of the City and it’s constant state of flux. The large scale of the work physically immerses the viewer into a portrait of New York and the urban architectural environment across the Downtown area. Through her continuous study of the metropolis that surrounds us, Helene Dennis offers us a complete 3 dimensional vision of the city’s kinetic energy. Her unique technique sits on the boundary of photography and drawing. She introduces layers of intense fine white lines, which build up the image before the viewer. These architectural renderings are then introduced to the photographic process in a similar way that one would use a negative. The result challenges the conventional reading of a photographic image and enhances the infinite traces that compose the City.

Shen Wei Dance Arts Public Performance in Times Square (Duffy Square)

Choreographer, director, dancer, painter and designer, SHEN WEI

Shen Wei chats with the dancers after the performance

Shen Wei and his dancers (Cecily Campbell, Hunter Carter, Sarah Chiesa, Evan Copeland, Burr Johnson, Cynthia Koppe, Sara Procopio, Adam Weinert and Brandon Whited)

Shen Wei Dance Arts performed today in Times Square (Duffy Square at 46th Street and Broadway) as part of the Public Arts Program of the Times Square Alliance. Choreographed by Shen Wei, the three part dance called "Re-Triptych" is inspired by journeys to Tibet, Angkor Wat, and The Silk Road, and invokes concepts such as "renew," "rediscover," and "repair." The performances in Duffy Square were given at 10:00 AM, 12:30 PM and 9:00 PM. The images above were made during the 12:30 - 12:40 PM performance.

About Shen Wei, artistic director

Choreographer, director, dancer, painter and designer, Shen Wei is widely recognized for his vision of an intercultural, utterly original mode of movement-based spectacle. Born in Hunan, China, in 1968, he was sent to a re-education farm with his parents at the age of two. From this inauspicious beginning, a “startling imaginative” (New York Times) artistic consciousness was born. Shen Wei became the founding member of China’s first modern dance company, then came to New York in 1997 on a fellowship in search of greater creative freedom. In 2000 he created his company and entered the international touring circuit. In 2006 he became an American citizen. He has been honored with the McArthur “Genius” award, the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the Nijinsky Dance Award and as a United States Fellow and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

In recognition of his achievements, he was invited back to China as lead choreographer of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies, where he convinced the organizing committee to make contemporary dance the centerpiece of the ceremonies, thus bringing modern dance to the forefront of Chinese culture. (information from the Times Square Alliance website)