Public Art

Photo by Austin Kennedy.

In last week’s New York Observer, writer Andrew Russeth spoke with El Anatsui about his theory and process behind Broken Bridge II, his largest public artwork to date, which is now on view at the High Line.

“I felt the skyline is a strong defining element of this city, so the mirrors form large segments of the top. They invite the sky and skyline into the work in such a way that you do not know where mirrors end and sky begins,” the artist told the Observer.

Follow us after the jump to watch a timelapse video of the installation.

One of Richard Artschwager's blps at 10th Avenue Square. Photo by Austin Kennedy. Courtesy the artist, Friends of the High Line, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

If you've visited the park recently, you may have noticed black lozenge-shaped marks on and around the High Line. The marks are called “blps” and they are part of one of our latest HIGH LINE COMMISSIONS, an installation by acclaimed artist Richard Artschwager.

The work is the first collaboration between High Line Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is building its downtown location next to the High Line’s southern terminus. You can find 9 blps installed in various locations through Sunday, February 3, 2013, in conjunction with the artist’s retrospective Richard Artschwager! at the museum.

Follow us after the jump to learn more and watch.

Installation view of Virginia Overton's Untitled in the stacked parking lot next to the High Line at West 20th Street. Photo by Austin Kennedy.

Hidden among the shiny cars in the tiered parking lot next to the High Line at West 20th Street rests a modest looking pickup truck. At first glance, this 1994 2WD Toyota appears to be just another vehicle waiting for its owner to take it for a ride, but look closely. As the brick-filled bed begins to materialize, the piece start to fall into place.

Follow us after the break to learn more.

High Line Art Production Manager Jordan Benke working on sections of pressed tin. Photo by Austin Kennedy.

We are in the final stages of installing El Anatsui’s Broken Bridge II, a monumental sculpture hanging from an exterior wall next to the High Line between West 21st and West 22nd Street.

Follow us after the break to learn more.

A design rendering of Jeff Koons' Train at the High Line. Image by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Jeff Koons.

As we continue to refine the initial design concepts for the rail yards section of the High Line, the design team is studying a range of options for the 10th Avenue Spur, with the objective to make it one of the major gathering spaces at the park.

We showed two initial design concepts for the Spur at a community input meeting on Monday, March 12, and we also wanted to share a potential art installation conceived by artist Jeff Koons that could work with either of them.

As one more far-reaching ideas – one that would bring trains back to the High Line in a big way – the art installation, called Train, would feature a full-size replica of a 1943 Baldwin 2900 steam locomotive suspended from a crane above the Spur.