“My Coney Island Baby”
In
collaboration with Robert Wilson
Permanent Art
Installation for the Stillwell Avenue Subway Terminal, Coney Island, NY,
Mar 2002 – May 2005
300-foot long, 17-foot high, glass block wall with silk-screen prints
and airbrush for Metro Transit Authority, Arts in Transit Program.
A spectrum of historical images captures the collective identity of Coney Island’s unforgotten place in American history. These images narrate without nostalgia the Coney Island experience in its great range of amusement. The ultimate destination of Coney Island is marked in its memory as the world’s playground.
The images differ in scale, and may appear more or less abstract depending on the viewer’s distance to the glass wall. The largest image, from 1939, depicts throngs of people populating the boardwalk. As one walks alongside this image the original proportions of the boardwalk appear within the long perspective of the passage. Most of the original black and white photographs and postcards have been selected from various historical archives in New York City. The photos are colored in to enhance a sense of playfulness and adventure.
Color and light are key elements in the realization of the glass wall project in the Coney Island Station Installation. Black and white images with strong color fields will come alive with the addition of proper lighting.
During the course
of a normal day the wall takes on a different presence and focus. Backlight
from the sun dominates the wall during the day, creating a crisp representation
of the graphics and colors. In the evening, the wall seems to glow from
within as the focus of the supplemental lights causes the wall to stand
out from its plainer surroundings. The viewer experiences different sensations
from the wall during the course of a day, discovering new elements and
making new connections to the images stored inside.