In mid-February, we trekked out to Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens for ART 3103: New York City Seminar taught by Jane Benson. In previous years, the weather had prevented the trip from happening but this time it seemed we were safe. As we arrived at a snow-covered Socrates, we were greeted by a wide field dotted with various sculptures as part of a current Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, which features 15 artists who were selected through a competitive application process. As part of our assignment for the course, we were asked to write a project proposal for Socrates. We set out to survey the space and the works currently installed to help formulate our ideas for what we would create since we are learning to think as practicing artists. Meanwhile, an ominous storm cloud began creeping across the sky and we watched nervously as it crossed the Hudson toward Queens.
Jane Benson pointing out the covered area where artists work on their sculptures during the summer.
At one point, captured in gusts of snow and wind, it felt as though we weren’t even in New York City anymore…had the Ithaca weather followed us??
After touring Socrates Sculpture Park, we headed over to the massive studio of Mark di Suvero who established the park in 1986 on top of a landfill. Unfortunately, he had just flown to Los Angeles, but we were still able to receive a full tour.
His works, which vary in size from tabletop pieces to towering metal sculptures, all have an element of interaction with the viewer. It’s necessary to view the larger pieces from a distance, but they invite you closer to spin pieces and push swinging parts and create sounds. The sculpture pictured above hangs above the floor by a mere few inches, thus creating a sense of curious and unexpected weightlessness.
We also encountered large works on paper and canvas which displayed his love for dynamic color, lines, and glow-in-the-dark paint. Overall, it was an incredible experience to see the studio and work of a world-renowned sculptor and to learn about his process. Seeing Socrates and the support it provides for emerging artists leads us to envision where our work and practice could take us in the future.
Mariko Azis (B.F.A. ’16) with one of the cats-in-residence of Socrates Sculpture Park
Photos by Anna Warfield