Stunning video art projected onto the Manhattan Bridge, BQE in Dumbo
Photo by Noemie Trusty
Immersive video art can now be seen gracing Dumbo’s famous infrastructure as part of Brooklyn’s largest projection project ever. Presented by the Dumbo Improvement District, the Dumbo Projection Project casts world-class video art on both the Pearl and Adams Streets sides of the Manhattan Bridge and along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Susan Smith McKinney Steward Park. The projections will run through April 20 and be on view Thursdays through Saturdays from dusk to 10 p.m.
Highlights of the art series include a generative piece by artists Josh Miller & Angela Fraleigh, who used community-generated messages to create Victorian bouquets, surrealist animated stories, and several works that follow the everyday activities of New Yorkers as they shop, walk, chew gum, and buy flowers.
The series is presented in three volumes, with the first volume running from January 18 through February 10. Volume one is a “catalog of imagined possibilities” according to featured artists Jason Urban and Leslie Mutchler, “translating our innermost musings and projected desires into abstract digitizations.”
Volume one features “Speculative Geologies & Speculative Geologies (Triptych)” by Jason Urban & Leslie Mutchler, “Sound the Deep Waters” by Josh Miller & Angela Fraleigh, “Protectors” by Mz.Icar, and “Ocean with Spirit Patterns” by Grant Cutler.
Running from January 15 through March 18, volume two offers a reflection on urban life and what it means to live in New York City. Inspired by New Yorkers’ well-known love for people-watching, the featured works are “at once chaotic and poetic, presenting the rhythm and patterns of everyday life, delving into questions of anonymity, homemaking, and intersectionality.”
Volume two features “Flower Man” by Kyoung eun Kang, “Chew and Walk Gum” by Josh Klatt and Eliana Perez, “Intersections” by Tala Schlossberg, “Rhythms” by Tala Schlossberg, and “Fronts Project” by Nicholas Fraser.
Spanning from March 21 through April 12, volume three includes a selection of work that utilizes a mixture of real life, animation, and hand drawings to create surreal videos that embark the viewer on “whimsical and unexpected journeys, all ultimately in the pursuit of creating one’s home.”
The projection project aims to highlight Dumbo’s famous landmarks and literally cast them in a “new light.”
“We are so delighted to give Brooklyn a new epic scale home for projection art. Where else can you see trucks, taxis and subways passing by atop world class video art! The scale is exciting and the community will be delighted with the remarkable breadth of work to brighten the dark days of winter,” Alexandria Sica, president of the Dumbo Improvement District, said.
“Of course we can’t solve the BQE with art, but we can put it to good use for artists and the community alike.”
All of the featured works will be on display during Dumbo Open Studios weekend on April 13 and 14. Visitors will also be able to take guided tours of the visual art during Dumbo’s First Thursday Gallery Walks.
The Dumbo Projection Project is the latest addition to the Dumbo Improvement District’s long history of hosting public art installations. The projection series will return to the neighborhood every winter.
“Public art helps make our city’s iconic infrastructure even more beautiful and vibrant, and New York’s public realm even more welcoming,” NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. “I applaud the Dumbo Improvement District for their partnership in bringing world class art to millions of New Yorkers and visitors.”
A full schedule of the series can be found here.
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