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For immediate release Public Art Fund presents? On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched
Sputnik I On October 4, 1997 Public Art Fund launches Gregnik Proto II by artist Gregory Green New York--On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched the first artificial satellite Sputnik I into space and asserted their technological superiority over the United States. Shock and panic shook the country as the space race began and newspapers ran headlines claiming "Reds Orbit Artificial Moon" and "Soviet Satellite Circles Globe Every 90 Minutes." 40 years to the day after Sputnik 1, artist Gregory Green will launch his project Gregnik Proto II, a prototype radio transmitter meticulously modeled after the original Sputnik Satellite. Mounted on a rooftop and visible from street level (corner of Berry and North 11th Sts), this silver orb with five antennas will appear to hover above Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Rather than sending radio signals back to Soviet bases, Gregnik Proto II will broadcast unedited artist-created messages over a low frequency fm radio signal to Williamsburg residents from October 4 through 31, 1997. Green's ultimate intention with his GREGNIK program is to actually launch a satellite into low level orbit over the Northern hemisphere, something thought impossible for an individual to accomplish 40 years ago. Artist Gregory Green is known for his bomb "recipes", almost-complete bomb kits and convincingly simple constructions of missiles, quasi-functional nuclear devices and other instruments of terror, most of which are made with materials bought at the corner store. His work conveys the ease with which Una-bombers of the world develop a sense of individual power. Green invites individuals to explore the boundaries of public and private political power, pointing out that anyone can now take on the position previously reserved for only the strongest of nations. Gregnik Proto II marks a shift in Green's art making process. From his earlier exploration of how the individual gains power through acts of terror, he now offers universal, popular access to information and its distribution as an alternative subversive strategy. The Gregnik Proto II project gives fellow artists access to a low frequency FM signal, providing them with a format to air their 3 minute unedited messages. Artist were asked to submit broadcast quality tapes for this project through an open call organized by the Public Art Fund. • Gregory Green will discuss Gregnik Proto II at Public Art Fund's Public Art Fund Talks on October 7, at 6:00 p.m. at Cooper Union's Hewitt Building. Gregnik Proto II is a project of Public Art Fund's In the Public Realm program, a series of site-specific proposals and projects by emerging New York artists. In the Public Realm is supported with public funds from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and through the generous support of the Greenwall Foundation, the Heathcote Foundation, the Silverweed Foundation and friends of the Public Art Fund. Look for these upcoming Public Art Fund Projects: BARBARA KRUGER NINE TO FIVE DONALD LIPSKI Continuing throughout the Fall...
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