When the sun goes down, McCarren Park will be warmly illuminated this month, only it has nothing to do with the holidays.
One of Brooklyn’s largest parks will welcome an intriguing public art installation by artist Jason Krugman, entitled “Living Objects,” in what is one of the few public art installations in McCarren Park’s 100-year history.
The project is the result of the second collaboration between the North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition (NbPAC), which produces public art projects, and the Open Space Alliance (OSA), which raises money to maintain parks. A previous work includes the India Street Mural Project, which featured commissioned murals from six artists on a long industrial warehouse of a Greenpoint street end.
“I love them! NbPAC arose out of a meeting we did together where both of us wanted to see more art in public spaces,” said Stephanie Thayer, Executive Director of OSA. “I was thinking about performances and local performers and it ended up being so much more than I would have expected. It’s really been tremendous.”
The exhibit will consist of three LED-lit humanoid figures made from plastic, wood, and wires, 50-feet wide and 15-feet high, sitting in the southwest quadrant of the park (Union and Driggs Avenue). The sculptures will be lit throughout the day, though most apparent at night.
NbPAC Director Ciara McKeown characterized Krugman’s work as a realization of the organization’s mission to provide artists with an opportunity to make public art in local parks, transforming the landscape into a “cultural arena.”
“People should come see Living Objects because not only are the sculptures themselves beautiful and captivating creations that show the diverse skills of Jason’s work,” said McKeown, “The installation is also unique to the park space in its large-scale human presence that NbPac hopes will invite viewers to connect with the sculptures, the park as public space and the essence of public art.”
Thayer agrees and hopes the installation will encourage more artists to exhibit their works in the parks under OSA’s purview.
“I hope it’s beautiful, maybe it will be eerie, It will be interesting and different,” said Thayer.
The official lighting of Living Objects, sponsored by NbPAC, Open Space Alliance, and Light Up Brooklyn will take place at McCarren Park between Union and Driggs Avenue on Sunday, December 13, at 6 PM. A reception at Light Up Brooklyn, 174 North 11th Street in Williamsburg. For more information, visit www.nbpac.wordpress.com or www.osanb.org.
