Park update: On September 7, the Spur and High Line Connector at 30th Street will be closed. From September 8 – 9, the Spur, High Line Connector, and Coach Passage at 30th Street will be closed.
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Francis Cape
The Other End of the Line
Gansevoort Plaza, at the corner of Gansevoort Street and Washington Street
October 22 – November 21, 2010
Francis Cape’s The Other End of the Line is a conceptual artwork addressing the connections and differences between rural and urban New York. The artist took inspiration from the High Line’s history as a freight train conduit that once transported raw materials and manufactured goods between upstate New York and New York City.
Cape transforms the trailer into a public exhibition space featuring artworks by thirteen artists based in upstate New York. Guest curator Ian Berry, Curator of the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, selected artists and works focused on themes of locality and transience. Exhibiting artists included Michael Ashkin, Kenji Fujita, Richard Garrison, DeWitt Godfrey, Matt Harle, Chris Harvey, Margo Mensing, Rebecca Murtaugh, Michael Oatman, Gina Occhiogrosso, Ken Ragsdale, Nancy Shaver, and Alfonso Volo. In his selections, Berry is not only concerned with finding artists who live outside the urban areas, but those whose work captures the particular conditions of life in upstate New York.
Trained as a carpenter and fine wood worker, Cape previously focused on meticulous wood constructions that emphasized clean lines, minimalist beauty, and sound craftsmanship. The focus of his artwork took a dramatic shift following a visit to New Orleans in 2005, just two months after Hurricane Katrina. After witnessing the destruction of lives, buildings, and an entire city’s infrastructure, the artist turned to a combination of photography and construction, and began exploring themes of rescue and recovery efforts, social neglect, and design for living.
Photos by Jason Mandella.
Artist bio
Francis Cape (b. 1952, Portugal) lives and works in New York. Recent solo exhibitions include Arcadia University Gallery, Glenside, Pennsylvania (2011 – 2012); Clifford Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York (2010); Murray Guy, New York (2009); and Suraci Gallery, Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania (2008). His work has been included in many group exhibitions including Franklin Street Works, Stamford, Connecticut (2012); LIU, Brooklyn, New York (2012); Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, Massachusetts (2010); and Prospect 1: New Orleans (2008). This is his first public artwork in New York City.
Support
This High Line Art Commission was presented by Friends of the High Line and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. High Line Art Commissions are made possible by Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Additional support for The Other End of the Line has been provided by The Greenwall Foundation. High Line Art is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties.
