site specific projects

Site Specific Art Project

Site Specific Art ProjectMLK Educational Complex

WILLIAM TARR (b. 1925)MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL1973 CorTen STEEL28' X 28' X 28'Soon after the 1969 assassination of spiritual and civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., a New York City public high school, planned for construction using weathering steel next to Lincoln Center in Manhattan, was chosen to commemorate the great American thinker, activist and orator.

Already commissioned for a major sculptural fountain at the school, sculptor William Tarr suggested his contribution be redesigned as a memorial to Martin Luther King.

http://resources.conservation-us.org/osg-postprints/postprints/1992-2/scott/2

WILLIAM TARR (b. 1925)MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL1973 CorTen STEEL28' X 28' X 28'

In 1973-4 the huge weathering steel sculpture was fabricated and erected around the primary HVAC air intake at the corner of 66th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. A 1968 sculpture, perhaps Tarrs masterpiece in weathering steel, already stood at the entrance to a Harlem grade school.

http://resources.conservation-us.org/osg-postprints/postprints/1992-2/scott/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Educational_Campus3

MLK CubeWILLIAM TARR (b. 1925)MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL1973 CorTen STEEL28' X 28' X 28'First introduced to the U.S. market in 1933 as U.S. Steel CorTen, weathering steel received special attention as an architectural and civil engineering material during the period ca. 1960-1975.

By the middle 1960s weathering steels rich patina colors had entered the lexicon of sculpture. Today practical and aesthetic factors have tempered earlier enthusiasm, but this very interesting material is still widely employed.

http://resources.conservation-us.org/osg-postprints/postprints/1992-2/scott/4

I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to selfdefeating effects of physical violence.

--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963

WILLIAM TARR (b. 1925)Rejected Skin1970CorTen STEELWater Street and Old Slip, NYCWilliam Tarr (1925-2006) was an American artist best known for sculptures in NYC such as the monumental Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, one of the largest welded-steel sculptures in the world and the 77 Water Street outdoor sculpture. His work is in the permanent collection of The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

http://publicolor.org/



Nick KozakSpectrum of Visible Light2014http://nickkozakart.com



Myra, Jesus, Darelis, Ivy Reaction to Darkness2014Plastic trash bags, hallway

Myra, Jesus, Darelis, Ivy Reaction to Darkness2014Plastic trash bags, hallway

Video!

The Aristocrats2013By Nina(sophomore)Performance Art Unit

Basically I spend about two years building bridges with other people in my building, generating my pedagogical credibility only to burn it all to the ground as my students take control of a system theyve been taught to passively accept for a decade or so.

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OrlandoOn a typical morning, a core group of Art History students arrived early to install a fake metal detector in front of the schools main elevator.As teachers entered the school they were directed by a group of student security guards to empty their pockets and go through a cardboard scanner they had built.When teachers passed through it, a student would press a sound effect button on a nearby laptop, making it seems as though the metal detector had gone off. Teachers were also required to register their cellphones with a small pink post-it.

Scanning Project 2014 mixed media

OrlandoTeachers who normally enter the building with ease were confronted with a lighthearted version of the frustration that students go through on a daily basis.

Orlando could not have pulled off this project without the help of his classmates: Kylana, Mariley, Alex (Loco), Francheska, Luis, and Eliza.

Scanning Project 2014 mixed media

Orlando

What is potentially problematic about a project like this?

Raian: This wasnt to piss them offit was bring awareness to what holds students back in the morning so maybe theyll be a bit more understanding.Dolfo: Whether or not teachers would want to participate or not. Some just participated because it was student led. Dolfo; Your commute in the morning is your own responsibility. Perhaps the whole experience is selfish.Alex: We would need the principals permission to do a piece like this.and we did get his permission..Alex: The students need to arrive way early. KT: Orlando should have emailed the teachers, so it would have led to more participation.

Orlando

What is potentially problematic about a project like this?

Sean: Making the teachers mad wont accomplish anything. And besides, you have to see that teacher later.Camila: the whole point is not to piss off the teacher, the point is to show students what they have to deal with. Angel: All these site specific art pieces have been interactive because of the participation theyve had. If you push someone to the point where they dont want to participate, it wont help your art. Tash: When WE get mad, we hold a grudgeand if we want to achieve empathy we have to treat others the way we want to be treated. Cailan: This gives the teachers an idea of the infuriation that students go through. Now they know how we feel.

Begin.Think.Consider.Look.Observe.Write.Ponder.Question.Allow yourself to imagine an artistic intervention at a site in our school.Begin.

What about our School? Our building?Our neighborhood?What are the spaces that seem to crave artwork being placed in them?

The Honeycombs on the ceiling. They have potential for site specific work.KT: The giant cube in the front. The MLK cube. Chess: the stairways, theyre so bleak.Raian: The windows, theres potential to show a HUGE picture on them. Other buildings cant do that. Anna: the terrace(s) have potential for.ART!Anna: Lincoln center has a lot of site specific artit wouldnt look good in a different place. .

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What about our School? Our building?Our neighborhood?What are the spaces that seem to crave artwork being placed in them?

Riddles: The metal frameworkreminds me of a prison.Cailan: The ceiling outside with all the colors. Jess: The exterior terrace with those cubes of plants.Michelle: the MLK Cube!! Its so drab and darkwe wanna give it some color. (Cor-Ten Steel) and the lunch room.Anesia: The stairs leading up to the terrace. Camila: the interior hallways. Tash: The lobby.Michelle: Boring classrooms.we gotta spruce it up.Anesia: Our school has plants around the windows. Jess: I love the windows. They open up the space and bring light in. .

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TerritoryBordersBoundariesDivide