Outdoor Art

Sometimes I don't really "get" large-scale installation art, and sometimes I find it downright annoying—but there's something about actually living in New York that has softened my view on public art installations. Maybe it's the novelty of seeing a familiar space in a different way, or maybe it's just fun for me to have new things to photograph. I still think Kolonihavehus is still my favorite piece that I've seen this year, but I've found myself enjoying similar exhibits around the city more and more.

Recently I had some time to kill so I walked around Madison Square Park, where the new Teresita Fernández installation, Fata Morgana had just opened. Described as "the Conservancy’s largest and most ambitious outdoor sculpture to date," the sculpture consists "of 500 running feet of golden, mirror-polished discs that create canopies above the pathways around the Park’s central Oval Lawn."

At first glance they are deceptively simple and kind of underwhelming. Taken individually, they're just oddly-shaped, overhead mirrors. The joy comes in taking in the installation as a whole—when layered and stacked, they're quite beautiful and surprisingly mesmerizing. I recommend walking the entire oval—the effect changes dramatically with every angle, and I would imagine, time of day.

Every summer, Governors Island has different art pieces scattered throughout the lawns. My first time on the island there was a hut made from milk jugs and I'll always be sad I missed out on the Planet of the Apes-like Statue of Liberty sculpture. However, this year's umbrella-and-hubcap-and-bicycle-wheel piece might be my favorite one yet. The bright colors were really incredible with the midday sun shining through and I love anything that grants me a perfectly-framed peek of skyline—just don't ask me what its all supposed to mean.