Roxy Paine, Conjoined, 2007
The broad range and psychic impact of public art was brought home to me on a recent visit to New York City’s Madison Square Park.
Conjoined is a 40 foot-tall sculpture of two intertwined trees created by conceptual artist Roxy Paine. And while I’m not a great fan of conceptual art, these stainless-steel trees glistening in the October sun formed a beautiful sight.
Along with Conjoined there is also Defunct, a 42 foot-tall sculpture of a lone tree which appears to be under attack from the shelf-fungus growing on it’s trunk, and Erratic, a boulder measuring 7 feet high by 15 feet wide. These works come out of the artist’s interest in the interactions between humans and nature and specifically from Paine’s examination of nature through the lens of industrial processes.
Nearby I came upon this memorial located outside the Appellate Division Courthouse, State Supreme Court, on the corner of 25th Street & Madison Avenue.
Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust, Harriet Feigenbaum, 1990
The nyc.gov website provides a description of the sculpture:
The memorial consists of a six-sided half column rising 27 feet above its base. The five-sided concave base extends one story below ground level, the overall height of the Memorial being 38 feet. Carvings of flames along the length of the column recall the flames of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. They appear to blow in the direction of the courthouse as if to threaten the symbol of Justice. A relief of an aerial view of the main camp at Auschwitz is carved into the base at eye level. An inscription “Indifference to Injustice” has been carved above the relief, “Is the Gate to Hell” below it. Specific locations at Auschwitz are identified: Torture Chamber, Execution Wall, Gas Chamber and Crematorium 1, Commandant’s House. The source of the image of the death camp is a photograph taken during an Allied bombing raid on August 25, 1944. By the selection of this photograph, the artist is saying that the Allies must have known of the camp and they took no action. On the base under the relief is a giant flame extending below ground level as a final reminder of Crematorium 1 at Auschwitz.
Close up: Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust
In a July 27, 1988 New York Times article (A Memorial to Holocaust is Approved), the artist’s intent is captured:
The artist who won the commission, Harriet Feigenbaum, intends to chisel the fires of the Auschwitz death camp in slabs of cold white marble, to carve the flames of despair into the rock and to mold the shadows of evil in stone. But, she said, there will also be carvings to catch the light of hope.
What function does public art serve? What responsibility does an artist have to the public, when public funds are used to purchase art, and the art is displayed in public spaces? What should the public expect to experience?
To me, Paine’s stainless-steel tree sculptures are shiny and eye-catching baubles, their message obscure. The observer is not encouraged to look much below the surface: there is little else there. Like much contemporary art they capture our interest fleetingly, leaving no lasting impression. Feigenbaum’s marble memorial, the flames of hatred leaping up to attack justice, captured my imagination and continues to hold my interest. The message is clear, the psychic impact substantial. To quote Feigenbaum:
“For me, a work of public art must enhance the environment in a provocative way. Art created for a particular situation cannot satisfy every special interest group, nor should it. The artist’s mission must prevail or the resulting project will not be an artwork.”
~TAB
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January 20, 2008 at 2:48 am
[...] of conversation, but there’s no denying the contribution they make to public life. In a previous post MadSilence highlighted the public art of NYC’s Madison Square Park. Now we highlight their [...]