Knot & Needle

This sculpture is entitled, Knot & Needle by James Surls. It is one of half a dozen or so similar structures by the same artist installed on the meridian of Park Avenue between 50th and 60th Street.

Notice the post-bloom tulips on the ground -- I posted a photo of them last week. According to a comment left on this blog, there will be coral colored begonias at the end of May, planted by the Fund for Park Avenue.

So do you participate in any non-profit or charity program?

Sculpture inside Glass Garden

This gigantic structure by Jean Dubuffet is one of half a dozen pieces installed inside the glassed-in garden behind Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. The garden space include a cafe and lots of tables and chairs facing Madison Avenue. It is one of the few spaces in midtown Manhattan to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee.

So do you have a favorite place to enjoy your coffee?

N.B.: Thanks to Hélène of Taches et Couleurs for identifying the artist of this sculpture.

Nine Days To Christmas

This gigantic sculpture of the Roman Arabic numeral '9' is located outside the Brasserie 8 1/2 restaurant on 57th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. I took this photo on the same day I took the one of the brasserie window, and I have been saving it for today's post.

So do you save anything unconventional, hoping it would be of some use at a later in the future?

Tumbling Mirages by Dennis Oppenheim

This installation art piece entitled, Tumbling Mirages by Dennis Oppenheim is one of the many public art projects sponsored by the Union Square Partnership and NYC Parks & Recreation department. The three 15-foot orbs, constructed from steel and fiberglass with multicolor panels, will remain at the southeast corner of the park until November 2008.

So have you ever tumbled (like circus artists) on a trampoline?

Virgin Mummy by Damien Hirst

Last year, I posted a photo of the Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst that was located outside the Lever House on Park Avenue and 50th Street. Earlier this week, I saw the statue again but it was wrapped in plastic and tape, looking very much like a mummy. I assume it was being prepped to be moved to a new location.

So when did you move to your current home?

The Love Wall

The Love Wall is a sculpture by Robert Indiana that was installed on the meridian of Park Avenue and 57th Street. The art installation is one of New York City's Parks Department projects and will be stay on 5th Avenue until May 15.

So when was the last time you fell in love? It can be for a dog or an object; it doesn't have to be a person.

Tree of Steel

This steel trees sculpture by Roxy Paine is one of three such structures that were installed at the Madison Square Park on 23th Street and Broadway.

So do you know what you are getting for Christmas this year?

Art or Smut?

This is a somewhat beautiful sculpture of a pregnant woman called, the Virgin Mother by British bad-boy artist, Damien Hirst. The bronze sculpture is roughly two-and-a-half storeys high and stands on plaza of the Lever House at Park Avenue and 5oth Street. I said the sculpture is "somewhat beautiful" because you are looking at the pretty side of the woman. The other side of the sculpture shows the anatomy of her body beneath the skins and muscles. Click here to see the other side of her body.

Damien Hirst is considered the "shock jock" of contemporary art because most of his work, in my opinion, are created to elicit shock and horror from the audience. Among his most recognizable and shocking art pieces are a tiger shark cut into three sections, and a cow and calf sliced into half cross-sectionally, all preserved in formaldehyde. Despite his outrageous stunts, he is extremely successful (i.e., wealthy) and his work, highly collectible.

What do you think? Has contemporary art gone too far or will future generations look at this as a ground breaking trend, like we do now with Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein?

MoMA: Richard Serra at the Sculpture Garden

This is a macro shot of Intersection II (1992-3), a gigantic structure by Richard Serra at the MoMA sculpture garden. It is made up of four identical bands of steel, each weighing 30 tons and measuring 13' high x 53' long and 2 1/8' thick. The structure is arranged in two parentheses formation like this: (( )).

Here is another shot of the Intersection II (below right) taken from inside the MoMA building. The other structure on the upper left is also by Richard Serra called, Torqued Ellipse IV.


Here is a link to more photos of the Intersection II on flickr.com by different photographers. They did a better job of capturing the image of the structure than I did.