102:, an eight-foot-long, 4,000-pound bronze sculpture of a reclining human form, painted vibrant pink. This piece, installed in Long Island City, sparked significant controversy due to the lack of community involvement in the selection process and its striking appearance. Critics described the sculpture as "too bright, too big, too ugly and too expensive," with some expressing concerns that its size and color could distract drivers and cause accidents.
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was selected), creating more transparency and accountability to the community during the process of commissioning a piece of public art. The legislation package contained six separate bills, four of which focus specifically on the
Percent for Art program. The bills focusing on the Percent for Art
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On 14 May 2015, the city council unanimously passed a bill that provided residents with more say before certain pieces of public art are installed. The bill was introduced by Vam Bramer. It amended the
Department of Cultural Affairs’ Percent for Art Program, which was borne out of a 1982 law that
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In opposition to the sculpture, Hunt
Rodriguez, an artist from Bushwick, Brooklyn, installed his own protest piece on Jackson Avenue: two conjoined and brightly painted wooden pyramids, one standing vertically and the other laid on its side, with a sign that read in part: “This is not against the
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However, a subsequent public meeting is now required allowing residents to speak with the panel’s recommended artists about their concepts, according to a spokesman for Van Bramer’s office. The bill also requires advance notification of these meetings, including online postings.
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It also required the
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) to collect demographic data on the artists receiving commissions to encourage diversity and would require more outreach encouraging artists to apply for the program in the seven most common languages in New York City.
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or the public was responsible for choosing it. Residents complained the sculpture was "too bright, too big, too ugly and too expensive". One
Community Board 2 Member said, “With art some people love it, some people hate it…but this looks like you dug up
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artist. It is against the misuse of our tax dollars.” He explained that the standing pyramid represented “the love of the residents” and the fallen pyramid represented “the idea of the city doing something without the support of the community.”
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Construction of the sculpture started on 3 August 2016. The sculpture was permanently installed at the intersection of
Jackson Avenue and 43rd Avenue by 15 November 2016. Almost immediately, Van Bramer fielded calls to remove the sculpture.
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program require that the panel deciding on
Percent for Art commissions include representatives from the office of the Borough President, Community Board, and Council Member in whose district the project is located.
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The legislation raised the cap on each
Percent for Art project from $ 400,000 to $ 900,000 for projects under a certain threshold, and from $ 1.5 million to $ 4 million for projects over that threshold.
170:(an eight-foot-long, 4,000-pound bronze sculpture of a reclining human form, painted vibrant pink and costing an estimated $ 515,000, of which Meromi received $ 103,000) was chosen to be installed on
174:, a decision which evoked significant controversy, primarily because there was no community involvement in the process of its selection. A three-person panel that was composed of a member from
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The new bill requires the
Department of Cultural affairs to notify the public via its website of its intention to install a piece of public art as part of the Percent for Art program.
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grandmother and threw it on the median.” There were also concerns that both the size and the color of the sculpture could distract passing drivers and cause accidents. (“
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The other two bills in the package require reports from the Arts
Commission and the Cultural Institutions groups to increase transparency.
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is an Israeli sculptor. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. In 2023, Meromi began representation with New York gallery, 56 Henry.
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The controversy led to the City Council passing a legislation package that overhauled the Percent for Art program (under which
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448:"Residents ask questions about selection process of pink sculpture, artists discuss affordable studio/apartment space"
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602:"Sparked by pink sculpture controversy, city council passes bill that aims to include the public in Public Art"
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Meromi is known for his distinctive and often provocative sculptures. One of his most notable works is
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2002 The Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Prize, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
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To resolve the dispute, a meeting was called, involving 300 residents, Cultural Affairs commissioner
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requires that one percent of the budget for city-funded construction projects be spent on artwork.
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1998 Nathan Gottsdiner Foundation, The Israeli Art Prize, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
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355:"Big pink sculpture likely to go up on Jackson Ave, while LIC residents kept in the dark"
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417:"Following pink sculpture outcry, Van Bramer organizes Cultural Town Hall meeting"
321:"Outcry Over Pink Sculpture Intersects With Broader Questions in Long Island City"
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The sculpture was approved at a Design Commission Meeting on 26 October 2015.
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847:"City Council passes public art legislation, sparked by pink sculpture saga"
816:"Pink Sculpture is up, Van Bramer has already fielded calls wanting it down"
571:"Protest art has gone up, as opposition to the big pink sculpture builds"
40:(2023) by Ohad Meromi, located in Ha-khorshot Park, Israel. Corten steel.
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754:"Construction starts for pink sculpture 'Sunbather' on Jackson Avenue"
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We are on the Shelf, TIME OUT Tel Aviv, 14 October 2010 (Hebrew)
509:"Guerilla Sculpture Critiques Big-Budget Public Art Commission"
692:"Pink Sculpture Approved For Jackson Avenue, going up in 2016"
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and a local artist selected the commission without input from
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2008 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award
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Haaretz – Gallery, New Exhibitions, 25 March 2010 (Hebrew)
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909:at the Israel Museum. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
661:"Pink sculpture quietly up for approval Monday"
386:"Pink 'Gumby' Finally Welcomed Home in Queens"
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785:"Work begins on controversial Pink Sculpture"
145:. Please discuss this issue on the article's
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1055:Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni
752:Blog, The Court Square (3 August 2016).
958:Interview of Meromi by Sculpture Center
690:Strawbridge, Jackie (4 November 2015).
659:Strawbridge, Jackie (23 October 2015).
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91:Born in 1967 in Kibbutz Mizra, Israel,
857:from the original on 24 September 2022
723:"Pink Sculpture Coming In Late Summer"
569:Murray, Christian (12 December 2014).
507:Nersesian, Arthur (12 December 2014).
353:Murray, Christian (26 November 2014).
795:from the original on 26 November 2022
721:Strawbridge, Jackie (13 April 2016).
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384:Martinez, Alanna (11 November 2016).
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826:from the original on 15 January 2023
764:from the original on 9 December 2022
540:"The Trials of a Hot-Pink Sunbather"
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365:from the original on 26 January 2023
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814:Wulkan, Hannah (15 November 2016).
600:Strawbridge, Jackie (17 May 2015).
519:from the original on 11 August 2022
415:Murray, Christian (11 March 2015).
918:Information Center for Israeli Art
885:Information Center for Israeli Art
845:Wulkan, Hannah (18 January 2017).
733:from the original on 19 March 2023
671:from the original on 19 March 2023
632:"Design Commission Meeting Agenda"
612:from the original on 19 March 2023
581:from the original on 19 March 2023
458:from the original on 19 March 2023
427:from the original on 19 March 2023
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446:Florio, Michael (20 March 2015).
257:Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
76:Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
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783:Hannah, Wulkan (6 August 2016).
702:from the original on 16 May 2022
129:to read and navigate comfortably
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538:Sigler, Jeremy (1 April 2017).
478:"SC Conversations: Ohad Meromi"
319:Semple, Kirk (18 March 2015).
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988:. You can help Knowledge by
16:Israeli sculptor (born 1967)
939:. Retrieved 1 February 2012
639:Government of New York City
137:content into sub-articles,
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948:Ohad Meromi on artnet.com
195:,” according to Meromi).
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482:www.sculpture-center.org
176:Socrates Sculpture Park
980:This article about an
907:Ohad Meromi collection
202:, City Council Member
1040:Artists from Tel Aviv
758:The Court Square Blog
1060:Israeli artist stubs
943:Ohad Meromi on Artis
206:and Meromi himself.
263:Columbia University
933:Art of Ohad Meromi
325:The New York Times
1035:Israeli sculptors
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193:Chromophobia
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1050:1967 births
143:subheadings
93:Ohad Meromi
64:Nationality
25:Ohad Meromi
1029:Categories
924:1 February
299:References
265:, New York
139:condensing
937:Europeana
891:1 October
333:0362-4331
251:Education
155:July 2024
147:talk page
135:splitting
133:Consider
72:Education
861:19 March
855:Archived
851:LIC Post
830:19 March
824:Archived
820:LIC Post
799:19 March
793:Archived
789:LIC Post
768:19 March
762:Archived
737:19 March
731:Archived
727:LIC Post
706:19 March
700:Archived
696:LIC Post
675:19 March
669:Archived
665:LIC Post
643:Archived
616:19 March
610:Archived
606:LIC Post
585:19 March
579:Archived
575:LIC Post
554:19 March
548:Archived
523:19 March
517:Archived
492:19 March
486:Archived
462:19 March
456:Archived
452:LIC Post
431:19 March
425:Archived
421:LIC Post
400:19 March
394:Archived
390:Observer
369:19 March
363:Archived
359:LIC Post
338:19 March
286:Articles
127:too long
85:Sculptor
58:, Israel
982:Israeli
874:Sources
189:Gumby’s
125:may be
67:Israeli
53:Kibbutz
38:Bikurim
331:
646:(PDF)
635:(PDF)
56:Mizra
986:stub
926:2012
893:2011
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329:ISSN
49:1967
46:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
