Following 2009’s The River That Flows Both Ways, by Spencer Finch, this project marks the second of two projects commissioned for the High Line, presented in partnership by Creative Time, Friends of the High Line, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Vitiello'’s work also marks the first sound project on the High Line, and the first large public art commission in New York City for the artist.
ABOUT CREATIVE TIME
Creative Time is excited to partner again with The High Line and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on a second block-long commission on the High Line. As organization that explores sites and communities in NYC and beyond, Creative Time has long been connected to the High Line, advising the park in its early design phase and helping launch its award winning art program with the Park’s opening in 2009. Since 1974, the non-profit organization has presented the most adventurous art in the public realm and changed the notion of what public art can be. From its base in New York, it works with artists who ignite the imagination and explore ideas that shape society. It initiates dynamic conversations among artists, sites, and audiences in projects that enliven public space. Creative Time’s recent, signature projects include Mike Nelson: A Psychic Vacuum; Doug Aitken: Sleepwalkers (in collaboration with MoMA); Playing the Building by David Byrne; and Tribute in Light. The organization recently began a national public art program, with Paul Chan’'s Waiting for Godot in New Orleans in 2007; Democracy in America in 2008; and Jeremy Deller’'s It Is What It Is in 2009.
www.creativetime.org
ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE
Friends of the High Line (FHL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working in partnership with the City of New York on the preservation and reuse of the High Line, a 1.5-mile-long historic elevated rail structure on the West Side of Manhattan. The first section of the High Line opened as a public park in June, 2009. The park on the High Line, inspired by the found landscape that grew up when the trains stopped running, is designed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The High Line is property of the City of New York and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks & Recreation. Through an operating agreement with the Parks Department, Friends of the High Line provides over 70 percent of the High Line’s annual operating budget and is responsible for maintenance and public programming in the park.
www.thehighline.org
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION
Since 1967, Parks & Recreation's public art program has consistently fostered the creation and installation of public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. They consider the parks to be "open-air art museums," and they strive to create a collection of permanent and temporary art that can compete on the international stage. With over 1,300 works, the parks are the largest municipal outdoor art museum in the United States. The design of the High Line, itself a work of art, makes it an ideal location for temporary public art installations. The 22-block-long High Line, owned by Parks & Recreation, tells of an era when ships, trains, factories and warehouses dominated Manhattan's West Side and illustrates how in recent years New York City has come to appreciate the value and potential of its unused industrial infrastructure.
