"alley cat photography'
The Rolling Bench of Riverside Park
In 1974 the National Parks Service, hoping to revitalized the area surrounding Grants Tomb, hired sculptor Pedro Silva to design and build a series of benches in conjunction with members, mostly children, of the neighboring communities . City Arts, an organization that creates community-based art projects, was enlisted to oversee the work. The resulting piece is a brightly colored, undulating bench that moves around the east, north, and west sides of Grant's Tomb. The images on the bench range from historical depictions of Grant's life, to fanciful, imaginary scenes of castles and dragons, to more contemporary subject matter such as cars. The bench's irregular contour often seems to be designed to accommodate the images in the work as well as elements of the environment such as trees and distant views.
The rounded edges, the color, and the flow of the bench contrasts with the white, straight edges of the monument that it surrounds. While some people have applauded this contrast in styles, others have contested the placement of the bench, and have fought to have it removed. Those who have spoken out strongly against the bench include members of historical and preservation societies, as well as Grant's descendents. However, in 2008, a project was undertaken and completed to renovate the bench! Yeah! (taken from NYC Public Art Cirrculum website, no author's name given. The Yeah is mine.)
To see an excellent video re the creation and restoration of this project click here:
www.revver.com/video/1135506/truly-public-art-the-rolling...
The Rolling Bench of Riverside Park
In 1974 the National Parks Service, hoping to revitalized the area surrounding Grants Tomb, hired sculptor Pedro Silva to design and build a series of benches in conjunction with members, mostly children, of the neighboring communities . City Arts, an organization that creates community-based art projects, was enlisted to oversee the work. The resulting piece is a brightly colored, undulating bench that moves around the east, north, and west sides of Grant's Tomb. The images on the bench range from historical depictions of Grant's life, to fanciful, imaginary scenes of castles and dragons, to more contemporary subject matter such as cars. The bench's irregular contour often seems to be designed to accommodate the images in the work as well as elements of the environment such as trees and distant views.
The rounded edges, the color, and the flow of the bench contrasts with the white, straight edges of the monument that it surrounds. While some people have applauded this contrast in styles, others have contested the placement of the bench, and have fought to have it removed. Those who have spoken out strongly against the bench include members of historical and preservation societies, as well as Grant's descendents. However, in 2008, a project was undertaken and completed to renovate the bench! Yeah! (taken from NYC Public Art Cirrculum website, no author's name given. The Yeah is mine.)
To see an excellent video re the creation and restoration of this project click here:
www.revver.com/video/1135506/truly-public-art-the-rolling...