Best of 2014: Xu Bing's "Phoenix" at St. John the Divine

Xu Bing's Phoenix, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York

Commissioned to create a sculptural installation for the World Financial Center in Beijing, Xu Bing visited the job site while the building was under construction. His visit left him aghast at the working conditions of the migrant laborers on site, and inspired the direction his sculpture would take. Collecting waste and industrial artifacts found on the site and around the city, he then fashioned them into two larger-than-life phoenixes, 90 and 100 feet long, collectively weighing 12 tons. Beautiful and impressive as they were, Xu's original benefactors took issue with his vision, declining to install the birds in their intended home. They eventually found a showing in a gallery before making their way to the U.S.--first at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and now at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights.

Upon climbing the monumental stair and passing through the doors, visitors are greeted by the birds from 20 feet overhead. Suspended from space frames hanging in the nave, the phoenixes--Feng (the male) and Huang (the female)--appear to be gliding towards the rose window. Essentially two gigantic found object sculptures, they are exquisite and complex compositions of discarded remnants of a culture's rush to modernization. These objects are given new life, the story of their humble origins elevated in a sacred setting.

Huang (foreground) and Feng (background)

Huang

Feng

Feng

Detail of Feng

Detail of Feng

3D-printed prototype of Phoenix

Xu Bing's phoenixes will be on display at St. John the Divine through February. The installation alone would be worth the visit, but if you've never been to the building, it is a marvel unto itself. Begun in 1892, the Gothic Revival Episcopal cathedral is still incomplete more than 120 years later. Even so, "St. John the Unfinished" is the fourth-largest Christian church in the world. Visitors are welcome when the church is open--daily from 7:30am until 6:00pm. Guided tours are also available.

For Eric Garner, We Walk

For the second night in a row, thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets en masse. They marched to protest a grand jury's decision not to press charges against the NYPD officer responsible for the killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island this past July. Early Thursday evening, a large number of the protestors gathered in Foley Square near City Hall, before heading north on Broadway, bringing traffic to a standstill. Cars, trucks, buses--for quite some time, everything came to a halt.

From what I saw, the affected drivers and passengers did not seem to mind, with some even voicing their support, such as the cab driver in the video below. The honking is clearly audible, but if you look closely, you can see the thumbs-up, too.



With a camera trained on this captive taxi passenger, he was all-too-happy to oblige with an interview.

Many signs such as this bore the last words spoken by Eric Garner to the police:

Others offered a broader message, in the wake of Michael Brown, Ramarley Graham, Sean Bell and others.

On the way across the river, the Brooklyn Bridge, and later the Manhattan Bridge, were closed to traffic to accommodate marchers. By the time I got to the bridge, the protesters were gone, but so was the traffic, with the exception of a handful of police vehicles speeding back and forth:

It was a very eerie, but peaceful feeling. Back in Brooklyn, the police presence was much more visible than usual, as shown by the scene on Tillary Street:

The protests will likely continue through the weekend. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has announced that it will open a criminal civil rights investigation into the Eric Garner case.

Photo of the Day: Heads Will Roll

Dress form in window of Ye Olde Good Things, Manhattan

Photo of the Day: Fire on the Brooklyn Bridge

This morning, Blue and I were caught by surprise by a cloud of black smoke billowing from the Brooklyn Bridge. Evidently, a car fire brought eastbound traffic to a halt for about an hour and a half. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

State of Decay: Interview with an Artist

Teddi Rogers: Angela's Lines (2013). Rose petals and cheese cloth on wood panel.

As you may or may not know, I'm currently acting as a curator for the FXFOWLE art gallery. The latest exhibition--running for two more weeks--features the work of Teddi Rogers, a New York artist who uses a variety of organic materials to deal with themes of loss and decay. I recently interviewed Teddi for the FXFOWLE blog, where you can find our discussion.

"SKINNED", an exhibition of Teddi Rogers' mixed-media "Skin Series," will be on display in the FXFOWLE Gallery through Friday, July 12, 2013. The gallery is located at 22 West 19th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm or by appointment.

You can see more of Teddi's work at www.teddirogers.com.

Orly Genger's Incredible "Red, Yellow and Blue"

This month, the Madison Square Park Conservancy unveiled a massively ambitious installation by the New York artist Orly Genger. Genger has crocheted 50 tons of lobster-fishing rope (which took two years for her team to clean) to create three open-air rooms spread throughout the park, each saturated in paint with a different primary color. The walls suggest a grainier, softer and more vibrant counterpoint to Richard Serra's monumental Cor-Ten works. "Red, Yellow and Blue" immerses itself in the landscape, diving into and emerging from the earth, weaving around the trees to form intimate spaces under the park's canopy. This beautiful creation definitely warrants a trip to the park. Luckily, it will remain there through Labor Day, so there's still plenty of time.

Will Ryman's "Bird" Lands in Flatiron Plaza

If you find yourself near Madison Square Park over the next couple of weeks, be sure to stop by the mammoth sculpture in Flatiron Plaza. Created by Will Ryman, Bird stands 12' tall and weighs in at 5 tons. With the exception of the rose-in-beak, the entire sculpture comprises around 5,500 nails, both off-the-shelf and custom-fabricated. Rather than methods of attachment serving a greater composition, the nails themselves form the structure and the surface. The sculpture will be on view through April 21.

Photo of the Day: NYC Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Good Morning, Nemo.

This morning's view from Fulton Landing:

Photo of the Day: East River Morning Fog

Yesterday's view from Brooklyn Bridge Park:

Bright Lights, Big City

Abstract impressions of Manhattan from Brooklyn.

As an aside, for those still looking for gift ideas: I've recently posted a selection of my photography, including the shots above, on Society 6, which produces gallery-quality art prints and stretched canvases of original artwork. Through Sunday, Society 6 is offering free shipping on unframed prints, as well as a variety of other products. To take advantage of this offer, please visit my shop, boxed out. After Sunday, you can still find my Society6 shop by clicking the link on the sidebar to the right.

Yvette Mattern's "Global Rainbow" Tribute over NYC

For a couple of nights this past week, the sky over New York was illuminated by a spectacular laser light tribute to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. The New York- and Berlin-based artist, Yvette Mattern, projected the colors of the rainbow from the roof of the Standard Hotel out across the boroughs, supposedly reaching all the way to the Rockaways, one of the hardest-hit areas of the city.

A few looks at the view from DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights:

 

Leo Villareal at Madison Square Park

If you find yourself anywhere near Madison Square Park between now and February 1, do yourself a favor and check out Leo Villareal's beautiful BUCKYBALL sculpture. Based on the form of the Carbon 60 molecule, the two concentric spheres are comprised of 180 LED lights, constantly in motion and changing colors.

Photo of the Day: Disembodied Empire State Building

Sandy: One Week Later

Last night it looked like a few more buildings had power downtown, but many along the river still don't. And there's a Nor'easter coming tomorrow.