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Span of time
Art exhibit in Bridge Park
revives decades-old sculpture
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
It’s the original bridge to nowhere!
The new interactive art installation
now stretching across Empire
Fulton Ferry Park is a revival of an almost
half-century-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
ART
“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.
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
work — 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
Timothy Schenck
Bridge under bridge: Siah Armajani’s public artwork “Bridge over
Tree” is now on view in Dumbo’s Empire Fulton Ferry Park, almost
50 years after its original installation in a Minneapolis public park.
of the Brooklyn and Manhattan
bridges, which straddle either
side of the park.
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.”
Summer of love
‘Romeo’ coming to Carroll Park
The theater company Smith
Street Stage will present the violent
delights of “Romeo and Juliet” for
its 10th-annual Shakespeare in Carroll
Park series in June. The tale of starcrossed
lovers was also the company’s
first production in the park, which
makes it especially appropriate for
the anniversary, the group’s founder
and artistic director announced at its
Winter Wassail gala on Feb. 9.
“Ten years ago, we came to Carroll
Park, and fell in love. Fell in love
with the people, fell in love on stage,
and fell in love with a new community
and artists we’d never worked
with before,” said Beth Ann Hopkins.
“We’re very excited to bring one of
the most beautiful love stories of all
time back to the place where we first
fell in love with it.”
In addition to its Shakespearean tale
of woe, the company has ambitious
plans for its 10th season, with three
more shows planned for 2019.
The company will workshop two
different shows as part of its “Early
Stages” program. First up will be
“The Artists,” a new play inspired
by the amateur actors who stage the
play-within-a-play of “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream,” written by awardwinning
Do you raise your thumbs at me, sir?: Smith Street Stage’s development
director Michael Hanlon gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up
after the company’s new season was announced.
prop designer Noah Mease.
The group will also workshop an original
stage version of the novel “Little
Women,” adapted by Smith Street
Stage regular Hannah Sloat.
No dates have been settled for these
shows yet, said Hopkins.
In September, the company plans to
produce an adaptation of the tragedy
“King Lear” titled “Lear’s Shadow,”
which will run at a theater in Manhattan
— but Hopkins said that the
company would never abandon its
home in the borough of Kings
“We’re never leaving Brooklyn!
We’ll be in Carroll Park every summer,”
she said “It’s just the next step
for our company as we grow.”
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