The lush beauty of Madison Square Park is the perfect complement to Rachel Feinstein’s simplistic sculptures. Simplicity was the theme I felt from all three sculptures. Straightforward features such as the white color, perfectly cut images, and spontaneous scribbles, made me think that the artist was trying to tell us that beautiful art doesn’t always have to be extravagant. We can find beauty in pieces as straightforward as a floating ship, or a structure on the edge of a cliff that looks like a child had a free-for-all with a pencil.

The theme of simplicity is also symbolized in the artist’s choosing the natural park setting; these ‘cut outs’ that look so simply made remind us that if we don’t pay attention, we may just miss life’s subtle forms of art… Just like if your passing through Madison Square Park and don’t look up from your phone, you might miss the artistic beauty taking place.

Rachel Feinstein also encompasses a theme of contradiction through her sculptures placed around Madison Square Park. The pieces themselves are contradictory to the surrounding area. They appear to be made of cardboard and scribbled on in pencil, something a young child would see in a pop-up storybook. This apparent ‘folly’ is out of place in the heart of a sophisticated financial district. Feinstein’s Flying Ship contradicts the meaning of a sailboat by flying midair through the trees of the park. The ship is incompatible as it floats on air without a sense of water.

Each sculpture looks as if it’s a prop from a theatre’s set. The greenery of the park contrasts with the white powdering of the sculptures. The towering skyscrapers serve as the final backdrop to the setting, while the park’s guests serve as the audience of these theatrical inspired ‘set piece’ sculptures.

The main reason I found this installation so interesting was because at first glance they appeared so simple, but after analyzing their location I found the hidden contradictory message of the folly.