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Bridge under bridge: Siah Armajani’s
public artwork “Bridge over Tree”
opened in Dumbo’s Empire Fulton Ferry
Park almost 50 years after its original
installation in a Minneapolis public
park. Timothy Schenck
Span of time
Art exhibit revives a decades-old sculpture
COURIER L 24-7 IFE, FEB. 22-28, 2019 59
By Kevin Duggan It’s the original bridge to nowhere!
A new interactive art installation
now stretching across Empire Fulton
Ferry Park is a revival of an almost halfcentury
old piece of public art. The
91-foot-long “Bridge Over Tree,” by
Iranian-American artist Siah Armajani,
does not span a ravine — instead, it sits
on the ground for most of its length, then
rises sharply over an evergreen tree at its
center. The sculpture’s lack of functionality
invites viewers to appreciate it in a new
way, according to its curator.
“It’s taking that idea of the bridge and
stripping away its functional necessity and
creating this poetic moment, a line that connects
two points, two people perhaps, that
invites you to think about what it means to
bridge and to cross,” said Nicholas Baume,
director of the Public Art Fund.
The bridge was first displayed in a
Minneapolis public park in 1970, when
the idea of interactive art was radically
new. The piece literally bridged the gap
between the general public and works of
art, according to Baume.
“Today we’re all about immersive experiences
and interactivity, but in 1970, artists
were not thinking about sculpture in
that way. A sculpture was an object on a
pedestal,” he said.
Armajani fled his native Iran in 1960
due to his pro-democracy stance, and the
political connotations of his piece — a
reminder to connect with others — are even
more relevant today, said Baume.
“In an era obsessed with walls and
fences, the bridge-building public work
of this Iranian exile is perhaps even more
urgent now than when first conceived in
1970,” he said.
With its trussed sides and shingled roof,
the structure stands in stark contrast to
the twin behemoths of the Brooklyn and
Manhattan bridges, which straddle either
side of the park.
On a recent Tuesday morning, children
climbed up and down the steep steps in the
middle, pausing to take in the vista of the
Manhattan skyline. In the half-century since
“Bridge Over Tree” debuted, the public has
grown closer to public art, and art become
more accessible to the public, Baume
observed, especially in the Big Apple.
“I think it’s fascinating to see how the
public now responds so warmly, actually
does recognize that this is a work of art,
that this is something to be appreciated
and engaged with,” he said. “And I think
there’s a wonderful respect now and appreciation
in New York City by the general
public of what it means to have art as a
part of our daily lives, not just something
that you go to a museum once in a while to
experience, but something that’s free and
open and available.”
“Bridge over Tree” at Empire Fulton
Ferry Park 1 Water St. at Dock Street in
Dumbo. (718) 222–9939, www.brooklynbridgepark.
org. Open daily through Sept.
29. Free.
/www.brooklyn-bridgepark.org
/www.brooklyn-bridgepark.org
/www.brooklyn-bridgepark.org
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