{"id":9373,"date":"2020-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark-2026.kudos.nyc\/2020\/06\/12\/new-yorkers-will-experience-new-outdoor-public-art-this-summer-at-socrates-sculpture-park\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T03:26:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T03:26:48","slug":"new-yorkers-will-experience-new-outdoor-public-art-this-summer-at-socrates-sculpture-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/2020\/06\/12\/new-yorkers-will-experience-new-outdoor-public-art-this-summer-at-socrates-sculpture-park\/","title":{"rendered":"New Yorkers will experience new outdoor public art this summer at Socrates Sculpture Park."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Media Contact<\/h4>\n

Sara Morgan\nsm@socratessculpturepark.org<\/a>\n415.845.1138<\/p>\n

Download Press Release \u2013><\/a><\/p>\n

Download Press Packet \u2013><\/a><\/p>\n

New Yorkers will experience new outdoor public art by Jeffrey Gibson, Paul Rami\u0301rez Jonas, and Xaviera Simmons this summer at Socrates Sculpture Park.<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/h5>\n
Rendering of Jeffrey Gibson\u2019s \u2018Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House\u2019 in the Park\u2019s landscape; Courtesy the Artist, Socrates Sculpture Park, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; Kavi Gupta, Chicago; Roberts Projects, Los Angeles<\/h5>\n

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW<\/h4>\n

New York City, June 12, 2020 \u2013 As the country grapples with both a deadly pandemic and the tragic consequences of systemic racism, Socrates Sculpture Park will open an exhibition of new outdoor monuments this summer. \u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 seeks to address the role of monuments in American society \u2013 some of which have been removed in recent days \u2013 and presents artist-envisioned monuments highlighting underrepresented histories including queer, Indigenous, and diasporic narratives. Socrates Sculpture Park, as with all NYC Parks, has been open and operating during the pandemic. With Phase I reopening of the city, Socrates will begin installing and presenting \u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 with the initial installation and presentation of Jeffrey Gibson<\/a>\u2019s project, \u2018Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House\u2019 on July 10th.<\/p>\n

\u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 will evolve over three phases as a cumulative exhibition. Part I opens this summer with major new commissions for monuments by acclaimed artists Jeffrey Gibson<\/a>, Paul Rami\u0301rez Jonas<\/a>, and Xaviera Simmons<\/a>. Then Parts II & III open together on October 10, 2020. Part II, \u2018Call and Response<\/a>,\u2019 features ten monuments by artists selected through an open call application process. Part III, \u2018The Next Generation<\/a>,\u2019 presents a multi-faceted monument project collectively realized by local Queens high school students. Additionally, the Park\u2019s Broadway Billboard above the main entrance will feature a monuments- related artwork by photographer Nona Faustine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Monuments are created by artists, but ultimately are valued and empowered by society. Throughout the exhibition, Socrates will engage the community through a \u201cvisible conversation\u201d which will allow socially distant visitors to respond to the work through an on-site exchange and display process. Artist-curated online activations will also allow viewers to engage with the projects virtually.<\/p>\n

JEFFREY GIBSON<\/h4>\n\"\"\n

For Part I, artist Jeffrey Gibson<\/a> \u2013 a recipient of a 2019 MacArthur Foundation \u201cGenius Grant\u201d \u2013 will present a monument to inclusion and diversity: \u2018Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House.\u2019 Drawing from Indigenous Mississippian culture, architecture, activist graphic traditions, and queer performative strategies, the large-scale public sculpture projects a future vision of the world that embraces complexities within collective identity. Gibson<\/a> has also curated a series of performances from Indigenous artists. These performances will be filmed onsite and made available to the public online.<\/p>\n

PAUL RAM\u00cdREZ JONAS<\/h4>\n\"\"\n

Part I continues with Paul Rami\u0301rez Jonas<\/a>\u2019 \u2018Eternal Flame,\u2019 a monument in the form of a grill which honors the role of cuisine and cooking in cultural cohesion and expression among immigrant communities and identities. \u2018Eternal Flame\u2019 is designed to recognize the importance of dialogue and exchange. During this new time of social distancing the grill will not be available for public use, but instead bring people together philosophically and culturally through the common experience of cooking and eating. With this in mind, a series of videos will be released with local and distant chefs invited by the artist to address the meaning of cooking in culture while preparing recipes and relating stories on each dish\u2019s significance. Rami\u0301rez Jonas<\/a> imagines cooking culture as a symbolic eternal flame, enduring in communities for generations, over vast distances.<\/p>\n

XAVIERA SIMMONS<\/h4>\n\"\"\n

Xaviera Simmons<\/a>\u2019 contribution completes Part I and is a series of sculptural forms \u2013 each baring landscapes of text culled from historical documents foundational to racial disenfranchisement in the United States. The works are a monument to promises denied, offering insight into governmental policies that continue to shape the racial caste system we live within presently. Simmons will offer a virtual tour and discussion of her works which will be made available to the public online.<\/p>\n

EXHIBITION PARTS II & III<\/h4>\n

For Part II, \u2018MONUMENTS NOW: Call and Response<\/a>,\u2019 the Park released an open-call for monuments. Applicants were asked to adhere to the topic of monuments. Over 200 proposals were submitted and the following artists were selected: Daniel Bejar, Fontaine Capel (2020 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow), Patrick Costello, Dionisio Cortes Ortega, Bel Falleiros, Jenny Polak, Aya Rodriguez-Izumi, Andrea Solstad, Kiyan Williams (2020 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow), and Sandy Williams IV (2020 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow). Part II will be on view from October 10, 2020.<\/p>\n

For the third part, \u2018MONUMENTS NOW: The Next Generation<\/a>,\u2019 high school students participating in the Park\u2019s arts education program, Socrateens, will collectively research and realize a monument sculpture (on view beginning October 10, 2020) and accompanying zine. All three parts of \u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 \u2013 I. \u2018Jeffrey Gibson, Paul Rami\u0301rez Jonas, Xaviera Simmons<\/a>;\u2019 II. \u2018Call and Response<\/a>;\u2019 and III. \u2018The Next Generation<\/a>\u2018 \u2013 will remain at the Park through March 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cNature and art make us human, heal our psyches, and provide rejuvenation when we most need it,\u201d says Socrates Sculpture Park Executive Director, John Hatfield, \u201cAs an urban park, space for contemporary public art, and a cultural anchor in Queens, Socrates is the ideal venue to present new artist-driven perspectives on monuments for a 21st century America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support<\/h3>\n

\u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 is organized by Socrates Sculpture Park and curated by Jess Wilcox, Curator & Director of Exhibitions. It is made possible with generous support from the Ford Foundation, VIA Art Fund, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, The Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships and the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation. Additional support for an accompanying publication is made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation. Socrates\u2019s Exhibition Program is funded by the Charina Foundation, The Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation, Agnes Gund, Lambent Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Smith, Mark di Suvero and Spacetime C.C. \u2018MONUMENTS NOW<\/a>\u2018 is funded, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, & the National Endowment for the Arts.<\/p>\n

About Socrates<\/h3>\n

For more than 30 years Socrates Sculpture Park has been a model of public art production, community activism, and socially inspired place-making. The Park has exhibited more than 1,000 artists on its five waterfront acres, providing them financial and material resources and outdoor studio facilities to create large-scale artworks on site. Socrates is free and open to the public 365 days a year from 9am to sunset. It is located at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard (at Broadway) in Long Island City, New York.<\/p>\n

Socrates Sculpture Park is a not-for-profit organization licensed by NYC Parks to manage and program Socrates Sculpture Park, a New York City public park.<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Media Contact Sara Morgan sm@socratessculpturepark.org 415.845.1138 Download Press Release \u2013> Download Press Packet \u2013> New Yorkers will experience new outdoor public art by Jeffrey Gibson, Paul Rami\u0301rez Jonas, and Xaviera Simmons this summer at Socrates Sculpture Park. Rendering of Jeffrey Gibson\u2019s \u2018Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House\u2019 in the Park\u2019s landscape; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9378,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9373\/revisions\/9378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socratessculpturepark.org\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}