Target Art in the Park, 2001

Marking the revitalization of Madison Square Park, Target Art in the Park—a three-year series of contemporary art exhibitions—kicks off its second summer season in New York with major installations by international artists Teresita Fernández, Navin Rawanchaikul, and Tobias Rehberger.

Teresita Fernández, Bamboo Cinema
Teresita Fernández’s installation Bamboo Cinema creates new views of Madison Square Park by luring visitors into an eight-foot tall Plexiglas “bamboo” labyrinth. Fernandez (b.1968, Miami, FL) constructed the vertical walls of the labyrinth with staggered, transparent plastic poles of differing diameters and heights that are silkscreened with a vertical, striped pattern of intense green and yellow hues. These bamboo-like stalks are embedded in the ground in concentric circles to create a translucent circular maze. The transparent poles allow different degrees of visibility from every angle. As in the earliest examples of cinematic devices, the vertical lines act as a continuous shutter, constantly interrupting any movement so that it appears to flicker.

Navin Rawanchaikul, I (heart) Taxi
Navin Rawanchaikul’s I (heart) Taxi project includes comic books, taxi tents, benches, and a food stand, all of which depict a collage of stories Rawanchaikul (b.1971, Chiang Mai, Thailand) collected from New York taxi drivers. Building upon his experiences in Chiang Mai, Thailand and in other cities throughout the world, Rawanchaikul uses the taxi as a symbol for the flowing energy of the city’s streets and the dynamic connection between the city’s different districts and people. He worked with Long Island City-based Checker Cab Company to gather true-life cabby tales, which he transformed into a Manga-style comic book.

At Rawanchaikul’s taxi café, a food stand and four hand-painted taxi tents portray scenes of everyday urban life. The tents offer shade over wooden benches that re-create the city skyline in silhouette. Rawanchaikul’s food stand is catered by Danny Meyer. Additional citywide project components include a companion I (heart) Taxi café at P.S. 1 Center for Contemporary Art and a 115-by-50-foot I (heart) Taxi banner hanging opposite the Port Authority in Times Square.

Tobias Rehberger, Tsutsumu N.Y.
Tobias Rehberger’s Tsutsumu N.Y. is a scenic Japanese garden that merges landscape, art, and an unnatural weather pattern to create a surprising installation. Adding a bit of winter weather to New York’s seasonal heat, Rehberger (b.1966, Esslingen, Germany) creates an installation in which snow falls mysteriously upon a small, serene setting. Amidst melting snow, park visitors sit within Tsutsumu N.Y., where the temperature is cool after each day’s summertime snowstorm.