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Artist Bio
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bronze

Public Art Fund Projects
in Central Park
A collaboration with the
Whitney Biennial

March 10, 2004 - May 30, 2004

At Doris C. Freedman Plaza
Fifth Avenue and 60th Street

Public Art Fund, in collaboration with the Whitney Museum, presents installations by Paul McCarthy, Liz Craft, Olav Westphalen, David Altmejd, assume vivid astro focus, David Muller and Yayoi Kusama for the 2004 Biennial Exhibition. Building upon the outdoor presentation of Biennial works in 2002, this year's show includes artists' site-specific reactions to Central Park as well as several sculptural projects that were conceived independently of location. For the first time, the exhibition includes a weekend event of openings and participatory artists' projects in the park.

Anchoring the exhibition at the northern and southern ends of Central Park are two sculptures by Los Angeles-based artist Paul McCarthy. MJBH is one of a series of recent works McCarthy has made based on artist Jeff Koons's famous sculpture, Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988), which was itself a representation of a publicity photograph of the superstar. McCarthy's MJBH, an abbreviation of "Michael Jackson Big Head," describes both the subject and McCarthy's characteristic figurative exaggeration. With cartoonish feet, large heads with inscrutable features, and relatively small bodies, Michael Jackson and his pet monkey merge into one tangled multi-limbed form. Made in 2002, just before the recent avalanche of press coverage on the legendary pop star, McCarthy's sculpture considers the nature of celebrity, re-imagining the familiar image of Jackson and his sidekick in monumental, grotesque form.

Artist Bio
Born in Salt Lake City in 1945, McCarthy studied at the University of Utah and at the San Francisco Art Institute where he received his BFA in 1969. He continued his studies at the University of Southern California where he received his MFA in 1973. McCarthy came to the art world's attention in the 1970s with his performances and film works, and since that time has expanded his practice to include sculptures, installations, and, most recently, inflatable objects. He has recently had solo exhibitions at the Tate Modern, London; Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York; and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. He now lives and works in Los Angeles.

Sponsorship
The Public Art Fund projects in Central Park, presented in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art, are sponsored by Bloomberg and generously supported by Adam Lindemann.

This exhibition is made possible through the cooperation of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Location
Doris C. Freedman Plaza is located at the southeast corner of Central Park at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Nearest subway: N, R to Fifth Avenue stop or 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street stop.
View a map of Public Art Fund Projects in Central Park --A collaboration with the Whitney Biennial.