Tibor Kalman

May 23, 2000
Times Square and citywide
Photos © 2000 Ferdinando Scianna, Jeff Mermelstein, and Guenay Ulutuncok

In conjunction with The New Museum, Creative Time and Maira Kalman presented Tibor in Orbit, a public art project that posthumously honored Maira’s husband Tibor Kalman. The project fulfilled Tibor’s unrealized dream of creating an “un-advertising” campaign to question social and economic equality. Tibor in Orbit appeared on one million Parmalat Sunndydale milk cartons in supermarkets in the New York metropolitan area, and was displayed on the video screen in Times Square. Featuring four “Tiborisms” (images and sayings characteristic of Tibor Kalman) every hour at fifty-nine minutes past the hour, the frozen Tibor in Orbit images functioned in stark contrast to Times Square’s chaotic bonanza of advertising, sound bites, and spectacular media images. Additionally, M&Co, Kalman’s design firm, created milk carton panels that read: “Tibor says money isn’t everything.”

Tibor Kalman initially worked with Creative Time on the Everybody installation in Times Square during The 42nd Street Art Project (1993), and he was responsible for creating the organization’s orange dot logo and identity campaign. He was an active board member of Creative Time for many years, sharing his youthful spirit and unique approach to creativity with the public.

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Andreas Angelidakis with 4th Dimension, Mike Ballou, Tobias Bernstrup, Jeremy Dawson, Brian Dewan, DJ Olive, Ricardo Dominguez, Scott Harding, Jean-Louis Huhta, Rekha Malhotra, Elaine Tin Nyo, Puppet Masters, Saralunden, Williamsburg locals, and others

May, 2000
Stockholm, Sweden

Much to several local Williamsburg residents’ surprise, a selection of frequent visitors to the neighborhood’s popular eatery known as Diner were randomly invited to an all-expenses-paid weekend trip to Stockholm, Sweden in May 2000. In partnership with Färgfabriken, an alternative art space on the southern edge of Stockholm, Creative Time contributed to the creation of a replica of Diner in the Swedish capital, patrons and all, as a means of promoting cultural exchange. Färgfabriken imported the food, menu, and customers of the popular Brooklyn restaurant in an effort to simulate as closely as possible the atmosphere of Diner. Jan Aman, Färgfabriken’s director, said of the project: “It’s not just about bringing people from Brooklyn to Stockholm. It’s about creating layers of reality.” Local Brooklyn musicians, dancers, and performance artists contributed to a distinctly Williamsburgian experience set in Stockholm.