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Hiding in Plain Sight 2

Fine Art and Architecture Create Place

Monday, February 13, 2006

Reported by Mark Wiener

This evening I had the good fortune to attend an intimate discussion group sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, with architect David Childs, of Skidmore Owings & Merrill and MoMA Architecture and Design Curator Paola Antonelli. He discussed the role of art in his design development for the Freedom Tower and 7 World Trade Center. For the lobby of the latter, the selection of an installation by Jenny Holzer influenced his choice of materials, with particularly spectacular results when the projection interacts with the reflective, transparent and translucent qualities of glass.

During the discussion of the Freedom Tower and the incorporation of sculpture in it‘s design, we were handed wood forms in the shape of the tower, for a tactile experience of the essence of the structure. It reminded me that art is not only found in or around a building, sometimes, a building is itself a work of art. The synergy and simultaneity of art curation and design, and the collaboration of architect and fine artist, promise to make these downtown treasures an enhanced and dynamic experience for all who seek them out.

More in our Buried Treasures series:
Update, Times Square, 2-11-2006

Walking west along 41st Street, one is tempted to try another route - so much construction, obstruction, digging, it can be hard to find the sidewalk while dodging cranes and backhoes. But don’t give up, the latest additions to our treasure map lie between 7th and 8th Avenues:

North Side: Multiple figures and a large clock by sculptor Tom Otterness populate the main floor of the Times Square Hilton in his installation, “Time & Money.” (The artist also has work in the Subway at 14th Street and 8th Avenue.)

South Side: “Building the Times,“ the construction of the new NY Times Building, as documented by photographer Annie Leibovitz, appears on the panels around the site of the ongoing work.

Enjoy! And don’t forget to send us your discoveries.

In public places all over NYC, from oh-so-posh cafes to the back stairs of the subways, art lurks. Buried physically amidst the caverns and canyons of midtown, psychologically within our busy days crowded with experience, or drowned out by the drone of the media moment, visual works of all genres offer up their beauty, substance and history to the lucky observer who takes the time.

Sometimes history and popular perception can eclipse the presence of art in a public place. You probably know that in the 1930’s, due to John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s objections to the politics of the content, a mural by Diego Rivera was removed from the lobby of the (now) GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. But were you aware that, in the very same space you can, today, see impressive and inspirational murals from that period by Jose Maria Sert and Frank Brangwyn, reflecting the social and economic optimism of their day? Lee Lawrie’s limestone and glass installation above the doorway, inspired by William Blake, is another urban marvel of public art.

Do you pass one of these treasures every day? Resolve40 wants you to stop, take a breath, and be dazzled, so here are more of our precious finds:

Elizabeth Murray - Subway 59th & Lexington Station
Maxfield Parrish - St. Regis Hotel at 2 East 55th St.
Roy Lichtenstein - Equitable Center at 787 7th Ave
Frank Stella - 599 Lexington Ave.
William Wegman - 399 Park Ave.
Sam Francis - CBS Building @ 53rd St. & 6th Ave
Leger & Dubuffet - 535 Madison Ave
Thomas Hart Benton - 1290 Ave. of Americas
Picasso Tapestry - Four Seasons Restaurant, 99 East 52nd Street
Various Contemporary Artists - Lever Building – 53rd Street and Park Avenue

Hunting for art is fun, the entire grid of Manhattan is your treasure map. Watch here for more of our discoveries or, better still, send us your own. Good luck!