They Told Me Not to Take that Job: Tumult, Betrayal, Heroics, and the Transformation of Lincoln Center by Reynold Levy Page B
Authors: Reynold Levy
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Larry Rivers, Andy Warhol, and Helen Frankenthaler. In the last decade and a half, works have been commissioned from such artists as Jim Dine, William Kentridge, Karen Kilimnik, Guillermo Kutcha, Glenn Ligon, Richard Serra, and Terry Winters.
Looking forward, the question seemed to me not whether there was a place for visual art on our campus, but rather what form it would assume. What impact would the transformation of Lincoln Center’s public spaces and performance facilities have on our thinking?
Lincoln Center is no longer interested in acquiring works of art as gifts. It is not a museum. It does not employ the expert staff needed to look after the physical condition of more than the couple of dozen pieces already in its possession. Instead, as the conclusion of the redevelopment project approached in 2010, we began to consider how best to deploy temporary exhibitions in our newly built indoor and outdoor spaces so that tens of thousands of visitors and ticketholders might view them. Could we commission new work, or mount existing work, in ways that would complement what was appearing on our stages, or in ways that would attract a new and different following? Could we call attention to artists of enormous talent who deserve the kind of exposure an association with Lincoln Center generates?
Our initial thought was to use visual art to animate Lincoln Center’s huge public spaces, like Josie Robertson Plaza. We established a partnership with the Public Art Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to commissioning and presenting the work of important artists in outdoor spaces where they can be viewed free of charge. The partnership began with two major installations.
The first was the work of Franz West, the Viennese artist. In the summer of 2004, he installed seven huge aluminum sculptures in a rainbowof bright colors that sat across Josie Robertson Plaza, stretching from Avery Fisher Hall to the New York State Theater. They assumed compelling, whimsical shapes. Completely approachable, the bright yellow, blue, pink, and green figures all called out “Touch me,” “Sit on me,” “Lean on me,” “Run around and through me.” It was the human interaction with his art that West wished for most. To the delight of kids and families, his dreams were completely realized with this installation.
Also in cooperation with the Public Art Fund, the Malibu, California–based artist Nancy Rubins assembled her sculpture Big Pleasure Point on Josie Robertson Plaza. For two months in the summer of 2006, the sixty colorful vessels she accumulated and assembled included kayaks, canoes, rowboats, surfboards, sailboats, paddleboats, and windsurfing boats. They commanded attention. Forty feet tall, fifty-five feet wide, and weighing over six thousand pounds, the assemblage brought new shapes and new life to the space it occupied. All patrons and passersby, nautically minded or otherwise, paused to look and marvel.
These site-specific works made sense. Josie Robertson Plaza is a monumental, monochromatic space. Any installation prepared for it demands a keen sense of light and proportion. Figuring out the geography of the placement of objects and the color combination that would work best was a major part of any artistic assignment. Learning from these earliest, well-received trials, Lincoln Center next turned to Los Angeles–based artist Aaron Curry.
Taking the Revson Fountain as his central perspective, he created fifteen monumental aluminum sculptures shaped like anthropomorphic figures. Their bright colors and playful forms were impossible to ignore. As people walked by these human-like shapes, it was as if they were accompanying them to the theater, or they were waiting for the curtain to come down so the viewers could converse with them about how they had enjoyed the show. Kids and their families were drawn to them, and as with West’s sculptures, thousands of photos were taken. These likeable and attractive figures
Looking forward, the question seemed to me not whether there was a place for visual art on our campus, but rather what form it would assume. What impact would the transformation of Lincoln Center’s public spaces and performance facilities have on our thinking?
Lincoln Center is no longer interested in acquiring works of art as gifts. It is not a museum. It does not employ the expert staff needed to look after the physical condition of more than the couple of dozen pieces already in its possession. Instead, as the conclusion of the redevelopment project approached in 2010, we began to consider how best to deploy temporary exhibitions in our newly built indoor and outdoor spaces so that tens of thousands of visitors and ticketholders might view them. Could we commission new work, or mount existing work, in ways that would complement what was appearing on our stages, or in ways that would attract a new and different following? Could we call attention to artists of enormous talent who deserve the kind of exposure an association with Lincoln Center generates?
Our initial thought was to use visual art to animate Lincoln Center’s huge public spaces, like Josie Robertson Plaza. We established a partnership with the Public Art Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to commissioning and presenting the work of important artists in outdoor spaces where they can be viewed free of charge. The partnership began with two major installations.
The first was the work of Franz West, the Viennese artist. In the summer of 2004, he installed seven huge aluminum sculptures in a rainbowof bright colors that sat across Josie Robertson Plaza, stretching from Avery Fisher Hall to the New York State Theater. They assumed compelling, whimsical shapes. Completely approachable, the bright yellow, blue, pink, and green figures all called out “Touch me,” “Sit on me,” “Lean on me,” “Run around and through me.” It was the human interaction with his art that West wished for most. To the delight of kids and families, his dreams were completely realized with this installation.
Also in cooperation with the Public Art Fund, the Malibu, California–based artist Nancy Rubins assembled her sculpture Big Pleasure Point on Josie Robertson Plaza. For two months in the summer of 2006, the sixty colorful vessels she accumulated and assembled included kayaks, canoes, rowboats, surfboards, sailboats, paddleboats, and windsurfing boats. They commanded attention. Forty feet tall, fifty-five feet wide, and weighing over six thousand pounds, the assemblage brought new shapes and new life to the space it occupied. All patrons and passersby, nautically minded or otherwise, paused to look and marvel.
These site-specific works made sense. Josie Robertson Plaza is a monumental, monochromatic space. Any installation prepared for it demands a keen sense of light and proportion. Figuring out the geography of the placement of objects and the color combination that would work best was a major part of any artistic assignment. Learning from these earliest, well-received trials, Lincoln Center next turned to Los Angeles–based artist Aaron Curry.
Taking the Revson Fountain as his central perspective, he created fifteen monumental aluminum sculptures shaped like anthropomorphic figures. Their bright colors and playful forms were impossible to ignore. As people walked by these human-like shapes, it was as if they were accompanying them to the theater, or they were waiting for the curtain to come down so the viewers could converse with them about how they had enjoyed the show. Kids and their families were drawn to them, and as with West’s sculptures, thousands of photos were taken. These likeable and attractive figures
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