Navigate NYC With Public Art

Allison Meier on September 17, 2013 Hyperallergic
From Bernard Rosenthal’s “Alamo (The Cube)” in Astor Place to Arturo Di Modica’s bull on Wall Street, public art in New York City is a navigational tool and a meeting place. Currently, an art project is exploring this idea with 80 signs plotted through Manhattan for 46 pieces of public art, both sculptural installations and those less traditionally defined like the ghost bikes and the stunning clock at the center of Grand Central Terminal.

Art within One Mile: The Route from Central Park to Brooklyn Bridge by artist Bundith Phunsombatlert was installed for the New York City Department of Transportation’s August summer streets, but will remain in the city through September. The signs are bright yellow and attached to light poles around Park Avenue from Central Park down through Lafayette Street, with from Tony Smith’s “Tau” 1965 the furthest north on the Upper East Side and Jan Mun’s “BeeVillage” (2013) in Battery Park holding it down as a southern anchor. Between there’s iconic works like Pablo Picasso and Carl Nesjar’s “Bust of Sylvette” from 1968 at the Silver Towers, as well as those you could easily miss like Sylvie Fleury’s temporary “After Hours 2: Miniskirts Are Back” (2013) roll gate painting on the Bowery.
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