PUFFIN WEST DOES NYNY: WAYFINDING THE CITY’S ART

CELEBRATING NEW YORK CITY’S PERMANENT ART COLLECTION THROUGH
A NEW PUBLIC ARTWORK

Wayfinding: 100 NYC Public Sculptures by Bundith Phunsombatlert

NYC Parks is pleased to announce a new public art exhibition by Bundith Phunsombatlert entitled Wayfinding: 100 NYC Public Sculptures in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. Located on the lawn in between the Unisphere and the Queens Museum, the installation is part of a series of events that celebrate the anniversaries of the World’s Fairs. Wayfinding, part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, consists of signage that indicates the distance to public artworks around the city, including several permanent pieces that were installed in Flushing Meadows during the World’s Fairs. The exhibition is on view now through November 2014.

The exhibit is a site-specific project that invites the public to embark on guided journeys through NYC to find public sculptures. Phunsombatlert researched all existing public sculptures in New York City and identified 100 sites to be incorporated in his final work. He then created small drawings of each sculpture and developed directional signs and maps that resemble standard U.S. National Park Service signage. The artwork is made up of signage for 100 public sculptures that contain distances drawn from GPS coordinates between each sculpture and the group of wooden posts outside of the Queens Museum at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The audience experiences their own journey to each original sculpture. However, whether visitors view the original sculptures or their drawn representational counterparts, this project calls attention to the very specific, transformative space between object and audience. The exhibition questions how the audience’s journey from the sign to original artwork can be a work of art in itself. Visitors are invited to see the online map at www.wayfindingNYC.com. Wayfinding: 100 NYC Public Sculpturesis an exciting and rare instance where NYC Parks’ temporary public art program will merge with and inform the permanent sculptures in New York City’s collection.

Bundith Phunsombatlert received a BFA and MFA in Printmaking from Silpakorn University, Thailand, in 1996 and 2000; and a MFA in Digital+Media from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010. He has been awarded grants and residencies from the New York State Council on the Arts (2013); Harpo Foundation (2012); MacDowell Colony (2011); Skowhegan (2009); Asian Cultural Council (2007); UNESCO Digital Arts Award (2004); and Pollock-Krasner Grant (2001). His work has been exhibited at NYC DOT’s Urban Art Program, New York (2013); Socrates Sculpture Park, New York (2012); Location One, New York (2011); The 4th Auckland Triennial, New Zealand (2010); and The Third Guangzhou Triennial, China (2008); The National Gallery, Thailand (2004); and The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Australia (1999).

The project is made possible by the generosity of the Athena Foundation, Awesome Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Location One, New York Foundation for the Arts’ Opportunity Grants, Puffin Foundation, Ltd., Puffin Foundation West, Ltd., Socrates Sculpture Park, Mark di Suvero, Anne Dunning, Rob Herschenfeld, James T. MacGregor & Claire Montgomery, Ivana Mestrovic, and Jan Mun.

NYC Parks & Recreation’s Art in the Parks program has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, collaborations with arts organizations and artists have produced hundreds of public art projects in New York City parks. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/parks/art. To learn more about Parks’s collection of outdoor monuments and sculptures visit http://www.nycgovparks.org/art-and-antiquities/permanent-art-and-monuments.

The Queens Museum is a local international art space in Flushing Meadows Corona Park with contemporary art, events, and educational programs reflecting the diversity of Queens and New York City. The Museum presents the work of emerging and established artists, changing exhibitions that speak to contemporary urban issues, and projects that focus on the rich history of its site. In November 2013, the Museum opened its new space, a 105,000 sq. ft. venue with a soaring sky-lit atrium, suite of day-lit galleries, and improved flexible event space. For more information visit http://www.queensmuseum.org

Contact:

Arthur Pincus / Tara Kiernan

(212) 360-1311

Image: Bundith Phunsombatlert, Wayfinding: 100 NYC Public Sculptures Rendering, Courtesy NYC Parks