Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Josephine Meckseper : Manhattan Oil Project

Photograph by James Ewing, courtesy of Art Project Fund

6MAR-6MAY
46th & 8th Ave

Manhattan Oil Project by Josephine Meckseper is the second installation at The Last Lot project space, presented by Art Production Fund. In Manhattan Oil Project, Meckseper presents two new monumental kinetic sculptures, each standing 25 feet tall. These full scale sculptures are inspired by mid 20th century oil pumps the artist discovered in Electra, a boarded-up town once famous for being the pump jack capital of Texas. The pump jacks recall the ruins of ghost towns, forgotten monuments of America's decaying industrial past. This pairing of the pump jacks and the Times Square location merges a classic symbol of American oil production and wealth with the center of New York City commercial culture.

The oil pump sculptures formally refer to the large-scale kinetic sculptures of Jean Tinguely, Alexander Calder, and Mark Di Suvero. Although they mirror the forms and materials of the mid-century oil industry, Meckseper locates her work firmly inside the contemporary debate about American business, wealth and consumerism. The pumps are intended as ignition points for critical discussion engaged directly with modern life.

The Last Lot is a generous short-term donation to Art Production Fund from The Shubert Organization, and is part of the Times Square Alliance’s public art program that works to bring cutting-edge art to Times Square. (via)

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