We’ve been hearing from puzzled readers curious about the new sculpture in Ahearn Park, the little triangle next to Apple Bank at Grand Street and East Broadway. It appeared about a week ago. The only informational signage near the art work reads, “Do not climb on sculpture.”
Here’s the scoop. It’s Brooklyn artist Allen Glatter’s “Toro,” on display here on the Lower East Side until next spring through the city’s Art in the Parks Program. A bit of explanation about the piece:
At first sight, the sculpture of Allen Glatter might appear to be a literal take on Paul Klee’s remark that a drawing is simply a line going on a walk. Each work, including Toro, takes the form of a continuous curve zigzagging through space, rising from the ground to above eye level and traversing the better part of a gallery room, or in the case of the outdoor work, a sidewalk. Constructed from seamlessly joined steel tubing, uniform in diameter, the freestanding sculptures simultaneously gather and perforate the spaces around them. Walking around the work produces a pleasant feeling that seems to derive from a rhythm of anticipation and surprise; despite the few formal elements involved, the overall experience varies radically from one vantage point to another. Each sculpture has a definite axis, and when viewed in that direction, the piece tends to open up into a number of loop windows. Though there are many changes of direction in its path, the curve is less of a meandering walk than a sequence of turns, an itinerary.
[Text by Philip Ording]
That sad little park needed something. Not my favorite artwork, but since it’s temporary I’m ok with it.
Perhaps I don’t appreciate art, but to me it looks like something scavenged from a demolition site or junkyard. Yuck!