THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

I pass this installation everyday walking to Baruch, and the most powerful thought it brought up for me was just why on earth was there a random picture of this boy on a lamppost? So based on my own experience, I think this photograph works to engage the public mainly by making people wonder why it’s even there. Of course there are also the details to think about, like how it’s mesh, black and white, and visible from both sides. But it’s its existence in itself (paired with really small informative text) that I think engage people the most.

This is a different picture than the one above, but in the same banner-on-a-lamppost format. And like I said above, I think its impact lies more with the fact that this is a random picture in the street, than with the actual picture in itself. For both of these installments, they may achieve the goal of art in general in that they make you wonder, but they don’t necessarily make you think of the global migration crisis, which is what Weiwei intended them to reflect.

This is the other installment that I happened upon before this homework was assigned, and like the first one, I didn’t realize that it is part of a larger art initiative.This may speak more to my unfamiliarity with the city, but I thought this was a permanent structure in Washington Square park. Unlike the banners however, this piece invites interaction. The tunnel outlined by the shape of people draws you in, and makes you want to go through it. Therefore this piece is more of a physical engagement than the other two. Again, I don’t know that it would make someone thing about the global migration crisis, but it makes you think.

The theme I chose for the curatorial project was animal endangerment and extinction and its impact. Therefore, if I were to create some kind of public art to reflect this theme, I would probably have a bunch of life-size figures of extinct species, and concentrate a lot of them in a few locations.This way, if someone were to go by one of those areas, the presence of the animals would be a lot more obvious, and people would be more likely to think about them. For example, by Bethesda Fountain in central park I would have a life-size dodo bird statue, and saber tooth tiger statue, and maybe a small dinosaur statue, and I would have these all in that square together. Furthermore, I would have a bunch of these groups in all different busy areas throughout New York City in order so that as many people as possible come into contact with the art.

I think the impact a conglomeration of life like statues of extinct species in one spot would have, is to at least get people thinking about why they are there. Hopefully though, there thoughts would go more to thinking about the animals themselves. Maybe people would wonder about what it would have been like if the animals were here with us, or what it was like at the time that they did exist.

One idea that stuck out to me from the video in the Art in the Open exhibit was that with public art, as opposed to art in museums, people aren’t afraid to provide their initial, unbiased feedback. This feedback takes form through interaction with the art, either physically or verbally. With my public art proposal people would be able to touch it and interact with it, and this in itself would achieve my goal, which was for the art to have a presence in the minds of people.

Finding these art installments / advertisements was a task in itself; even with the help of the map, the banners were not in quite the same place, which resulted in me wandering around frantically looking for the GFMGN banner, and I definitely got a few weird looks from people. The first ad I came across spoke about salvation stemming from human hearts, which resonated with me in a very deep level. I find the concept of human sympathy, or the lack of, to be the source of all of our major problems/solutions in the world. I like that reading the ad forces you to reflect on the ways we are individually responsible for the state of the world and the people around us.

The second ad that I observed was more of a statistic than anything else. “Germany is the leading European destination for refugees, with almost 1.2 million asylum applications filed between 2015 and 2016.” Again, I believe the motivation behind this campaign is geared towards shoving these facts at the people, and kind of forcing people to realize what’s going on in the world with refugees and immigrants, which many people overlook or believe what they would like to believe. I like the idea of making it known to people the truth of these topics, instead of them remaining ignorant.

The third ad I found also had to do with a more general statement on the world. It spoke about peace and how peace is never guaranteed for ANYONE. Privileged people, those who have never had to really struggle or fight for their basic rights, see peace and order as something guaranteed. They almost take these privileges as a fundamental truth in the world, meanwhile for many people in underdeveloped countries, peace and other basic rights are never guaranteed, which we do take for granted. For this reason, it’s easy for people to have a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to immigration, because they cannot imagine the hardships these refugees are facing in their home countries. If more people were able to sympathize or even begin to try and understand these hardships, I believe the immigration debate may be a bit different.

If I had to create my own public art project based on my curatorial project topic, which was the power of protesting, I think I could come up with some very cool pieces… If I had to incorporate the themes of protest in a public setting, I would like to do something similar to GFMGN, and utilize everyday advertisement space to force the public to have to see it. I would like to make the connection between revolutionary protest, and modern day protest by using images (paintings) of revolutionary battles from our nation’s history, such as the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and other significant events that show the necessity of protest in forming our modern world. This, side by side with photos of Colin Kaepernick and other more controversial protests occurring in our society, would hopefully show people that there is validity in protesting. I would put these advertisements all over the city, especially in the overhead space in subways, bus stops, in the subway stairs and platforms, as well as on billboards around NYC, that way it is visible to people all over the city and in many different places, forcing people to view it. This form would be visible on all levels of the city, and I think that would speak to many different types of people as well. Not only would commuters see the pieces on their rides to and from work or school, but people would also be able to see it from the tops of buildings and skyscrapers as well, meaning people from all types of jobs and economic class would be reminded of the necessity and validity of protesting. I hope that this would change the subject from “why are they disrespecting the country?!” to a conversation on what ways the country is failing, and how we can work to make changes to how our country functions. Like the revolutionary war, we are in a very significant time period and I personally feel like the actions we take in the years to come will have a very big impact on the direction of our country, and because of that being able to fight for our beliefs and ideas is becoming a vital part of our culture,

The first Ai Weiwei installation I visited was the five fences structure located on the windows of the Cooper Union Science and Art building. I found it very intriguing that the artist used the pre-existing building to present his public art. Ai Weiwei compares these fences to the social division that often relates directly with opportunity and social class. The way that the fences are incorporated into the building shows that social division is able to adapt throughout time.

The next installation I found by Weiwei was a lamppost banner that depicted a picture of a man who had arrived as an immigrant to the United States through Ellis Island. I love the used of positive and negative space, as well as the origin of this picture. A man working at the Bureau of Immigration, Augustus Sherman, took photographs of immigrants, due to his interest in their culture and diversity.

This banner was also created using a picture from Augustus Sherman, who took pictures of various immigrants from different backgrounds. I like the way that Weiwei depicts different immigrants from all around the world using the same format. The black and white theme, as well as the positive and negative contrast, allows each person to be depicted similarly while appreciating their origins and various backgrounds.

If I were to create a public art project that engaged the New York City community, I would create a wide variety of installments around the city with a common theme. I would use diversity and togetherness to demonstrate the city and the positive aspects of having this many people, with so many different abilities, in one densely populated place. I would create sculptures to be displayed around Manhattan, broadcasting the diversity of the city. I would have an installation involving puzzle pieces, to show how although we are all different and come from different parts of the world, we all benefit from each other and live peacefully in the same city. The one thing that I always loved about Manhattan was how busy it was, and how everyone was able to do their job without worrying about anyone else. Everyone lives in such close corners and is able to accomplish the world. I would use these concept in my public art, in order to engage the city and embrace the positive aspects of living in such a large and fruitful city.

I have to say, Weiwei’s project is one of the most mystifying and complex works of public art I’ve personally encountered in the city. The overall structure of Weiwei’s project seems scattered and disorganized; with over 50 of his creations spread across New York City in the forms of banners, bus shelters and fences.

After reading about Weiwei’s vision and his project mission, I still felt a bit confused by his physical choices in creating his message, so I decided that I could only really understand by paying a visit to a select few.

Banner 64; 5th Avenue & 53rd Street

First up was Banner #64, the closest of Weiwei’s works to my job. I have to admit that it took me a good ten minutes of walking up and down 53rd street to find this particular banner, but when I finally found it, I was stunned that I had not spotted it sooner. This banner is so much unlike the banners we are used to seeing around the city- this banner is simply a shot of a woman’s strained, emotional face. I berated myself for not spotting it sooner but immediately realized that I had finally been able to understand at least one of Weiwei’s objectives- to steer us as oblivious, fast-paced New Yorkers to slow down and pay attention to what is around us. This woman represents just one person in the global refugee migrant crisis, but yet, she is there- looming above us. Dozens other banners around the city silently announce the presence of these people in need; as much a part of us as the stranger walking down 5th Avenue right next to us.

Five Fences; The Cooper Union.

The Five Fences were the first of Weiwei’s fences that I encountered. I stood outside of Cooper Union for several minutes, contemplating why Weiwei would build five “fences” around the second floor of a college. And then I realized that I could see students moving about beyond the fence, behind the windowpanes. I realized that the presence of these thin fences drew my attention towards recognizing the life moving beyond said fences. In essence, they are fences, but I realized that they truly are not more than just another thin layer that can be seen through beyond the glass.

Circle Fence; Flushing Meadows Corona Park

I was so excited when I saw that the Unisphere was on Weiwei’s interactive map. Anyone who has ever spoken to me knows how much I love my borough and how much pride I have in the “Queens Spirit.” I think that being a Queens kid means being proud of the diversity we display, the authenticity we exude and the “good neighbor” each one of us is with each other. I run in this park every week, and when I went on my daily night run, I ran by the globe and stopped to pay attention to WeiWei’s “fence” here. His fence was more of a “net barrier” of sorts, low and not the kind of “fence” you would imagine around something as iconic as the Unisphere. I stopped to think about Weiwei’s touch here and what it meant to me to have the “Queens Pride.” One of the objectives of Weiwei’s project was to “reflect on the profound social and political impulse to divide people from each other.” These fences are not meant to be intrusive reminders of hostility. but rather, they serve as a reminder of how profound the impact of humanity is on a city like New York. Miles away from the first banner I saw in Manhattan, here I was in Queens, staring at another one of Weiwei’s “fences.” They aren’t pictured here, but when I first reached the globe, there were two teenage boys perched on top of the Globe itself and it seemed as though both had also brought their bikes past the fence as well. Seeing this made me reflect back to reading that  “Visitors to the exhibition will discover that Ai’s “good fences” are not impenetrable barriers but powerful, immersive, and resonant additions to the fabric of the city.” I witnessed first-hand the power and immersion that emanates from Weiwei’s art.

“Subway Therapy” by Matthew Chavez // photo credits to the Washington Post

One of the best things I’ve ever seen in this city is the “Subway Therapy” wall that occurred immediately after the election of 2016, in which Donald Trump was elected as president and the Republican party took control of the House. Aside from the politics, I loved the heart and feeling behind Chavez’s idea. It brought New Yorkers together in a way that didn’t involve fights and dirty words; fists or murderous weapons. It allowed for all of us to express our human selves in the most harmless and yet thoughtful way- on a Post-It note. We see just how expansive our city is; how much heart and character we collectively have when we come together to put up a “therapy” wall. No matter how different every single one of us are, at the end of the day we are human beings and New Yorkers first.

My curatorial project was formed around this idea: that at the end of the day, we are a city of character and strength and heart. If I was to curate a public art project around the city, I would imitate Chavez’s idea, but I would post signs at various locations around New York City with the question,

What do you love about this place?

There would be Post-It notes and pens available on a board next to this question, all around New York City and the only goal I would have with this project is to have New Yorkers stop and reflect on why they love this city. I can picture a sign with this question placed around landmarks and hidden corners such as Union Square Park, the piers at Long Island City, the Whispering Gallery at Grand Central Station, the wall of the 74th Street- Jackson Heights subway station. I would post boards with these questions in every spot around the city that I love- as an invitation to other New Yorkers to stop and reflect on exactly what they love about this city.

The curatorial project served as my “passive-aggressive” love letter to New York City, but it truly made me realize how lucky I was to call this place my home and I hope to do the same to those just as profoundly frustrated and deeply in love with New York City as I am.

-Jayne Chen

An aspect of Weiwei’s artwork that I found to be quite fascinating was his lack of organization. Instead of having his exhibit displayed on museum walls, Weiwei’s spreading out of his artwork throughout New York City enriches the typical experience of walking through a museum, and incorporates the interactive element of searching for something within the city that we travel through every day.

The first exhibit I visited was one of Weiwei’s  “Bus Shelters,” located at the intersection of Fulton and Bond Street. Upon my arrival, I noticed that several people who were clearly not waiting for the bus, looking at the unconventionally constructed bus stop and taking pictures. Though I was surprised that other people knew of this artwork, I came to the realization that the way average passers-by observed the bus shelter was, in fact, exemplary of how city-wide exhibits function. Unlike an ordinary museum, bounded by walls, the spreading out of pieces of art invites folks from all around New York City to appreciate and interpret the way art is incorporated in commonplace city structures, in this case, a bus stop.

My next arrival was Weiwei’s “Arch,” in Washington Square Park. As I walked through the cage-like structure, I noticed the sun shining directly on the artwork as if nature was somehow shining a spotlight on the arch. With some research, it was interesting to discover that the “Arch” was originally constructed to highlight what Weiwei described as an “increasing hostility towards immigrants and the rise of nationalism through the world.”

Being that I was already in Queens on Friday evening, I decided to venture out into the borough and look for one of Weiwei’s works titled “Circle Fence. The piece itself consists of a geometric structure consisting of nearly one thousand pieces of rope encompassing a metallic globe-like sculpture. Besides the immediate visual appeal of the work, I found it to be extremely symbolic, especially regarding international unity.

Since I had made my curatorial project on the topic of protecting free speech, I think a good application of this theme in a physical exhibit would be to create a very large, public message board, on which everyday people would be able to grab a paper, or plastic note and write down any thoughts they had as they saw the artwork. This artwork would involve the entire community in promoting the expression of individual thoughts, with no mechanism in place to filter out any content in a way to promote freedom of speech, and how necessary it is for there to be laws in place to protect what is possibly the most important aspect of a free and prosperous society. The piece would be located in the Times Square subway station where millions of people would see it every day, and be reminded of the identifying right of the United States.

Ronald Osherov

Banner 144

Harlem Shelter 1

Banner 132

I was surprised to see that the exhibit in the City Museum of New York simply had art on the actual wall. I was expecting actual recreations on torn apart walls. If I made those exhibitions it would be actual torn walls replicating the street art on buildings and murals. As for the good fences make good neighbors, this was a different kind of street art that intrigued me to think about the types of people surrounding me. I have seen this art around the city, but I did not know what it was for before. Now, I am aware of its purpose. It was a different kind of street art. I visited one bus shelter and two banners. The bus shelter was named “Harlem Shelter 1”. Before I knew about this exhibit I assumed that these fences were meant to protect children from running away from the bus stop. Now, after the reading the description I have realized that these shelters do exactly what they are described as doing: they constrict. They tighten and restrict the ability of human movement. It reminds me of the wall that Trump claims he wants to build. It has an isolating feeling, it is almost like a prison. The second item was the banner named “Banner 132”. It is a lamppost banner of a refugee girl who was staying in the Berlin Airport. This made me think of how important it is to have sanctuary cities so that people are not dehumanized to living off of less than the bare minimum. It also made me think of how I would feel as that girl, having to move as a refugee and change my whole life in a foreign land. The third and final banner I saw was the “Banner 144”. This was also a picture of refugee, but he was male. This one consisted of the difficulty in crossing a strait that lead to Greece. This reminded me of the drawing I saw in the Brooklyn museum of the refugees on a tiny boat holding on for their lives. Again, it depicts the horror these people go through just to try to find a better life.

My curatorial was based on immigration itself, but I focused more on the positive than the negative. I would make a public art piece that was one big sculpture in each borough. I do not necessarily know what it would be of, but I would not want it to just be appealing. I say this because then people would only take pictures and not understand the message. I would probably make murals of people in chain, and I would make it slightly political. As an aspiring political scientist, politics are a part of my DNA. One issue that has been haunting me is that of Grenfell tower in London. Many people died in a blazing fire, because the lining in the building was very flammable, but the government kept it so that this building would not be an “eyesore” to the richer residents surrounding it. This topic has been in my mind since it happened in the summer. Why have we lost humanity? Why is it that everything simply has to be based on aesthetics. The British government claimed that only 71 lives were lost, but many believe that it was way more. I would want to include those people’s struggle, because even when the refugees come they are treated like a burden. I would want people to visit all 5 of the art pieces, because they would tell a story from the harsh and sad start to a hopefully successful ending. I think it would be metallic structures that move a little, and they would have pieces of art inspired by the wonderful Banksy. Banksy has some wonderful political art, and I would want it to spark a conversation. I would want people to question whether the art itself should be allowed in public spaces, and I would want people to question every aspect of the politics of the art. Also, the art would just target all citizens, not a specific group. The world needs more people to be kind and empathetic rather than harsh and blindly unemotional.

Marie Traore

I find that as an individual living in New York City, it is difficult to observe all the commotion that is going on around me. Often, I feel that if I stop to observe the moving city, I may get trampled in the bustle. However, the times that I do pause to reflect on the commotion around me, I realize that indeed, I am walking along through a motion picture at each given moment.

One area I pass through frequently is Washington Square Park. I have always noticed the large archway that stands in center of the park, yet I never took the time to understand what this art possibly could represent. I always had admired the arch for its beauty but never thought twice about it.

Recently, Ai Weiwei has placed his art in this public space, the Arch. I never understood what this arch within the monumental arch represented. Once I was given the link to his exhibition, I was granted the opportunity to learn about it. I finally understood a bit more about why Weiwei would place such an arch there. Weiwei speaks about how NYC’s population is immigrant rich. He explains how throughout his life, he frequently encountered fences, creating a barrier and a divide between him and his opposition. I find it fascinating how Weiwei placed this arch in order to allow the public to experience a similar dynamic, to be behind the fence and to be able to observe from the other side. I feel that Weiwei was trying to create an art experience where the interpretation is dependent about the awareness of the viewer. If one does not pay attention to these fences and divides (like myself at first), then he will pass through the Arch and simply be unaffected. However, if one wishes to pay attention to the steel bars before him, he may realize that the steel barriers are representative of some sort of experience.

Another one of Weiwei’s works I wished to explore was the cage that he placed in the entrance of Central Park. Once I had learned about the artist himself, I knew I would enter the Cage with the expectation to experience the Cage in a certain way.

As I walked through the Cage, I was shocked by the it’s glaring orange color. The color makes this cage impossible to miss. It’s as if Weiwei was sending the world a wakeup call, saying that we cannot ignore issues of human rights injustice. The orange color also reminded me of a prison suit straight jacket. This feeling of being exposed in the open yet trapped in your own cage was rather unsettling.

After walking around the Cage by the entrance to Central Park, I spotted one of Weiwei’s lamp post banners. I had heard that these banners were dispersed throughout the city and truthfully, I had been hoping to stumble upon one.

From a distance, this picture of the refugee was very clear and beautiful. I thought it was amazing how the artist was capable of capturing and creating such detail the metal punctured platform.

I walked around the lamp post in order to capture another angle. What I noticed was that, even from a distance the refugee would not become clear to me. I kept moving back thinking that from further away, the blur may fade, however, this was not the case. This made me consider that perhaps Weiwei was trying to convey this sense of being of “the other side of the fence”. When one just observes from his side of the fence, things may present themselves as simple, clear or perhaps even beautiful. However, if one is to cross over the threshold, a reality may be so warped or different and the simple beauty begins to fade…                   

The concept of Weiwei being able to display his art in public spaces made me appreciate how certain issues must be addressed to the public regardless of their presentation. Yet, to be able to capture an experience by using art as the medium was rather amazing. It was almost as if issues could be experienced rather than just acknowledged or learned about.

I feel passionately about climate change and environmental sustainability. I think a public art demonstration has the potential to impact tremendously.  If people are faced with the issue they will have a difficult time ignoring it. I therefore considered a designated area with some sort of waste tower. However, all the waste featured would just be piles and piles of card board boxes. The boxes represent the constant amount of consumption we are capable of. Each item we order online comes in a shipping box. Food shipments and inventory for stores are delivered in boxes and boxes. All these packaging gives proof to our constant consumption. I think this cardboard tower will have people thinking about how much they consume and perhaps cutting back at least one purchase a week. I hope for this public art experience to not only be unique and captivating but informative and insightful.

BA #11

Ariel Margolin

*Disclaimer: My phone was being repaired the day I visited the exhibits, and I had no device upon which to take photos, so the photos are off the internet.

Chrystie Street Fence

What I enjoyed about this piece was its humoristic element. The work is a clear mockery of the whole concept of “fences keep us safe” where needless fencing is put in needless places. The artwork placed fences between two high rise buildings, a place where no one would physically tread, but a fence was put up “just because.”

Gilded Cage

For this piece, the message resounds clearly “the nicest cage is still a cage.” Although it may be covered in gold and its safe and secure, he who’s inside is relegated to what is but a luxury prison. This is what fences do to a place, they box it in and turn it into an isolated, forsaken place. However nice a place may be, being closed in limits it.

Walter Gropius Banner

This banner represents the benefits a society stands to gain if it opens its arms to immigrants. Walter Gropius was a famed personality who worked many years at the famed Bahaus Art Studio in Germany and came over after the Nazi’s shut it down and taught art at Harvard. Not only does keeping a country open to new arrivals give people a safe refuge from despicable places and regimes, it also allows the accepting country to grow as new people with new ways of thinking come to its shores.

My Community Project:

If I were to make an art exhibit, I would make it something that brings an important issue to attention, as keeping something in the eyes of the public, the “word” get out on a greater scale. The issue I believe is most pressing to us New Yorkers is the keeping of natural spaces within New York.

My exhibit would be followed based on specific guidelines where the pieces must be viewed in order to understand my complete idea. The first piece would be the largest tree in Central Park and this is chosen to show how beautiful what is at stake can be. My next piece would include a small historical blurb next to the exhibit pamphlet about a place that used to be full of greenery and now is a high-rise building. Manhattan is chock full of these and I will find the example which stands out most to me. To not make the exhibit too long, I will finish with the showing of a community garden in what is otherwise a concrete wasteland. This community garden will feature young trees planted as well so as to show that the rehabilitation of the city is possible if concerned citizens make the effort. The finishing on a positive note will leave the audience (hopefully) ready to take action and make it a better, greener city that helps citizens and visitor alike.

The aesthetic values of having nature within an otherwise highly-developed landscape are often overshadowed by the “real” benefits of plant-space such as fresh air and Carbon Dioxide breakdown. I always found it a wonderful sight when I saw a row of planted trees in an urban place or seeing a park in the midst of the grey mayhem of the city. Great art not only shows us the beauty of life, it inspires us to expand beauty in everywhere that we go.

At this installation, I must admit, if it wasn’t for the assignment or the yellow sign, I would have never stopped to think about these fences. I would assume that it’s just the way it usually is. Having my attention brought to this installation, I believe the fences are symbolic of both keeping people in and others out. They are also enclosing the high arches of the building, creating an area that wouldn’t usually be highlighted by fences. They have been placed very abstractly.

This huge installation is placed very strategically. It is in the middle of the arch at Washington Square Park. The cut out of the fence that imitates the shape of the arch looks like two people walking together. Once you walk inside, the sounds create an interesting echo and it feels as if you are surrounded by a solid structure. Once you’re on the other side, you look back and realize that the things around you are not solid at all. The fences have holes in them and they are hollow. This interactive installation hides many messages, one being about how fences can make people feel entrapped and closed off, even though that might not be the case.

It was difficult to spot these banners at first because it depends on which angle you look at them from. Looking at them directly, you can clearly examine a face. From the sides, they seem like black banners with small holes that encourage you to change the angle in order to make out the image. If you don’t know much about the exhibit, it is difficult to understand what their purpose is. Reading about the concept, I infer that these are the faces of people who struggle with immigration and the way that it, unfortunately, divides people.

My curatorial project was focused on a topic that is incredibly important to me. I created a museum exhibit that would shake up people and make them act in change about saving our environment and taking care of our planet and the animals that we live with. My public art project would be the same. In hopes of refraining from being incredibly dark and sinister, I would demonstrate what people are doing to our planet from a different perspective. I would ask cartoonist and artists that value the same ideas as I about protecting our planet and I would give them different scenarios like throwing garbage on the floor, driving cars that pollute the air, fracking, and careless rich people that seem to let these things go by unnoticed. I would ask these artists to draw these scenarios – reversed. I would like people to imagine what it would be like if our earth made acid and garbage rain from the sky, the way we throw chemicals and garbage on the ground as if it were normal. I would imagine that digging holes in peoples’ bodies to extract a very valuable liquid would seem harsh and uncanny, the way fracking cause irreversible damage.  I would place tons of these cartoons in huge scales all over the city, where people will see them in their daily life activities. I realize that this sounds very harsh and unpleasant, but I also realize that this is how our planet would feel if it has similar capabilities as we do. I’m aware that our planet doesn’t have feelings, but I am also aware that our planet causes earthquakes and tsunamis and storms that we aren’t very fond of either. My public art project would be art with a warning and a cry for action. (I would love for Trump to be in New York City to see it.)

Ellen Stoyanov

If I were to create an art exhibit in NYC, I think I would take advantage of the bus shelters and the banners just like Ai WeiWei. Instead of focusing on people, I think I would show pictures and maps of buildings. In our previous assignments we got to research and take notice of building and maps that are way different than they are today. I think it would look really awesome to have those photographs hanging around the current sky scrapers. This would also be a tribute to all of the buildings that had to be torn down in order for the new ones to be built. It would be a way to remember the past and allow for everyone to see what the world used to look like on a daily basis. It was really interesting to visit the library and see all of the old images and plans for buildings that aren’t around today. It would also show what the city could have looked like, and I think it would definitely get people to think about the changes that we make to the city today. Unlike Ai WeiWei, I would like to use color in my art work. I want my images to have a brighter and happier theme so I think I would need to use bright colors. It would also grab everyone’s attention. I walked past Ai’s work a million times but I’ve never noticed it until this weekend. I want my exhibit to be noticed and talked about.

This banner depicts Arnold Schoenberg. He was a jewish artist and music composer that had to flee the Nazis. Its important to realize how art has been restricted for so many years by different governments. I feel grateful to know that I have the freedom to express myself however I want. Many people over the centuries have had to fear for their lives when expressing themselves in different art forms because they threatened government control. This banner #63 is located right on Church St. and Liberty St. downtown of Manhattan. Its on Liberty ST. right in front of 4 World Trade Center. Most people take pictures of the building and completely miss the art work right in front of it.

This is a photograph of a refugee. This piece of art is very important because because we all need to remember that our ancestors were once immigrants trying to escape the hardships of their country and build a better life here in NYC. This piece of art represents all of the refugee camps that Ai and his team have visited around the world. The black and white represents the uncertainties of being a refugee and not knowing what awaits you every day. They often have t live in fear of being caught and arrested. This Banner #180 is on Trinity Place, right after Liberty St. It stands on a poll thats placed between the 2 traffic lanes and faces towards the southmost part of manhattan.

“Ai created this portrait from a suite of images by Augustus Sherman, an amateur photographer and Bureau of Immigration clerk at Ellis Island” You can find this banner #31 if you walk down Broadway and then turn East onto Fulton. The banner hangs right over the Pret A Manger store and almost blends in with the building.