July 07, 2006

"Big Pleasure Point" at Lincoln Center

The Public Art Fund has sponsored a new temporary outdoor sculpture project that will grace Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center until the 4th of September. This year we are treated to "Big Pleasure Point" a huge and colorful assemblage by Nancy Rubin.

"Big Pleasure Point" comprises 60 rowboats, kayaks, surfboards, and other water craft, artfully welded and strung together with wire and perched about 20 feet above the astonished viewer. The title is derived from the words "Pleasure Point" stencilled on the side of several of the hulls from a Marina of the same name. From a distance it's hard to tell what it is, beside big, and as one comes closer one can only wonder at how on earth these boats got up there! It is a true engineering marvel and a feast for the eyes.

Ms. Rubin was born in Texas and now lives in Southern California. Her work is typified by a use of salvaged objects in incongruous ways that create a challenge to the viewers' commonly held expectations. In her hands, ordinary household goods become heroic, gravity defying almost alien forms forcing us to look at these simple things with new eyes.

This is Ms. Rubin's first project in New York and a wonderful complement to the outdoor scene at Lincoln Center. I hope we are graced with more of her amazing creations in summers to come.

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