Art on the Beach 6

July 7 - September 16, 1984
Battery Park City Landfill
Photo © 1984 Lona Foote

Eight collaborations by 32 artists (artist, architect, performer):

Erika Rothenberg, Laurie Hawkinson, John Malpede
"Freedom of Expression National Monument" was a giant megaphone pointed at the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan, designed to counter the "sense of powerlessness" felt by ordinary people in an age of electronic blather. Passersby were welcomed to voice their concerns on contemporary issues and assert the importance of free expression. The Performance by John Malpede, titled "Alight and Foolhearted; The Banks. The Banks. What about the Banks? What About the Banks? And What About the ________?" was the rantings of a wise fool, part Walt Whitman, part ambulant psychotic, addressing such issues as the international banking crisis and the plight of the homeless. His reflections through the megaphone fluctuated between the sensical and the strictly paranoid and hallucinatory.

Kate Ericson, Juergen Riehm, Ellen Fisher
"The Happy Hour" was a multi-media extravaganza which took place on a tropical oasis, expressed through a 150 foot by 150 foot section of bright green carpet located on the Northwest corner of the Landfill. A boat full of pirates arrived and disembarked with a treasure chest joining dancing palm trees, a sea horse, and elegant ladies and gentlemen sipping cocktails.

Alison Saar, Audrey Matlock, Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake improvised with saxophone, voice, and audiotapes in a quasi-archaeological site, which evoked the ruins of Roman aqueducts, designed by Audrey Matlock. The site was surrounded by an installation by Alison Saar called, "Rufus Lupis Rap" which consisted of brightly colored figures of dogs and men in three piece suits made of sticks, rags, and concrete which turned in the wind like weathervanes. The intent of the collaboration was to call attention to ancient roots in the modern world.

Emily Jennings, Allan Wexler, Jane Comfort
"Site 1" was a collaboration based on the concept of urban renewal as an implant into a neighborhood without concern for the neighbor. Allan Wexler constructed four small buildings combined to form larger buildings, implying the threat of urban expansion. Emily Jennings built a deceptively "playful" toy, which was meant to collect and dispose of people. Jane Comfort and dancers utilized movements that relate to homesteading activities and manipulated the small buildings to emphasize their role in the growing city environment. The audience was "displaced" at the end of the performance.

Mikyung Kim, Michel Kagan, Lisa Kraus
"For Distant Viewing" was designed as a setting at once monumental and intimate. Architecturally, it was an 80 foot circle crossed by a 50 foot runway that defines displacement. Artist, Mikyung Kim reacted to the static nature of Michel Kagan's structure and to the temporal aspects of Lisa Kraus' performance in creating a three-dimensional environmental drawing, which reflects the dynamic qualities of sun, earth, wind, and water. Lisa Kraus' performance for nine dancers, with original music by John Hagen, was created for and integrally related to the contemplative and temporal nature of the Landfill.

Mac Adams, Henry Smith-Miller, Peter Gordon
"Dead End" was an installation about a mysterious crime and consisted of a real automobile partially buried in a 120 foot trench. The car's high beams remained on, inside the car were scientific instruments, barbed wire surrounding the trench, and various other props that gave clues to help the viewer determine the nature of the "crime." "Dead End" represented the collaborators collective observations about the condition of the environment and the backdrop of New Jersey. Peter Gordon's musical performance incorporated live instrumentals, audiotapes, and real motorcycles.

Rhonda Zwillinger, Richard Clarke, Ned Sublette
"Sunstroke" was an elegant, futuristic structure with a balcony and revolving satellite dish built by architect, Richard Clarke, and embellished by visual artist, Rhonda Zwillinger, with mirrors, shells, sequins, paint, marbles, and scenes of the New York City skyline at sunset. Musician, Ned Sublette, used the structure as a metaphorical instrument and as subject matter in the continuation of the concept of radio, which has consistently informed his work throughout his career. The collaboration drew its inspiration from the giant transmitter atop the World Trade Center.

Livio Saganic, Robert Mcanulty, Steve Clorfeine
"Port of Entry" was a collaboration in which the performer, Steve Clorfeine, as "foreigner" arrived at the site via a mysterious, moving boat constructed by Robert McAnulty. There, he was suspended in time and happened on a series of stone monuments made by the artist, Livio Saganic. At this site, he was instructed in the local customs of the civilization he discovered and received further instructions. The work was conceived as a reflection of the stillness and permanence implicit in a desert environment.