5 Things to Do This Weekend
Our critics and writers have selected noteworthy cultural events to experience virtually and outdoors in New York City.
Feb. 18, 2021
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Swoon’s mobile sculpture, “The House Our Families Built,” at Brooklyn Bridge Park in January. On Sunday, it will be at the north plaza of Union Square.Credit.RadicalMedia and PBS
The artist Caledonia Curry (professionally known as Swoon) is bringing a house to Union Square.
Previously installed at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, the mobile sculpture, “The House Our Families Built,” will be at the Manhattan square’s north plaza on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (it then moves to Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Feb. 27). This installation was commissioned by PBS as part of its storytelling project, American Portrait, which the network established with RadicalMedia to archive narratives about how we construct our identities as Americans.
This is such a cool project between one of our favorite artists, Swoon, and favorite networks ever, PBS: Traveling around NYC right now is a 14 foot b.
Photo: Marshall LaCount/Swoon Studio
A roving public art installation that explores the American experience has hit the streets of New York City. As part of the “American Portrait” initiative from PBS, Brooklyn-based artist Caledonia Curry, also known as Swoon, has designed a diorama-inspired sculpture on top of a 14-foot box truck. The installation, titled
The House Our Families Built, features paintings and cutouts portraying domestic life. The sculpture debuted at Brooklyn Bridge Park last weekend and will travel to Prospect Park on February 6-7, Flushing Meadows Corona Park on February 13-14, and Union Square on February 21. Photo: Marshall LaCount/Swoon Studio
Rick Lowe s collaborative G.A.P Van memorialises the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre Photo: Marlon Hall/Greenwood Art Project
As part of its American Portraits initiative, an ongoing crowd-sourced project in which participants respond to prompts on the American experience, PBS has launched a roving public art initiative with the artists Carlos Ramirez, Swoon and Rick Lowe that reflects on American culture and identity. The multi-media installations, made from repurposed vehicles, will be shown in different locations across three US cities for several months, and will also be recorded in a four-part documentary series.
The artists selected for the project “each present a unique viewpoint” on what it means to be American today, says Bill Margol, the director of programming and development of PBS. “In art that provokes thought and discussion, we can find common ground and civility.”