|
| Ming Fay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
|
|
Whitehall Crossing
|
|
|
Completion Date:
|
2005
|
|
|
|
Medium:
|
Granite
|
|
|
|
Dimensions:
|
n/a
|
|
|
|
Location:
|
Whitehall Ferry Terminal
|
|
|
|
Address:
|
New York City
|
|
|
|
Architect:
|
Fred Schwartz Architect
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Agency:
|
Department of Transportation
|
|
|
|
Design Agency:
|
EDC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Whitehall
Crossing
suggests a historical point for departure. It is a series of twenty-eight granite benches divided into three serpentine rows installed in the waiting lobby of the Manhattan side of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.
Inspired by the Native American's early crossings with
dug out canoes, the arrangement of the benches suggests carved seats of a
floating, organic form over a water theme terrazzo floor. As a functional art
piece, Whitehall Crossing is almost invisible because it invites viewers to engage in, and thereby become part of, the design while sitting in the benches.
About the Artist...
Ming Fay was born in Shanghai, China. He has been making art and teaching in the New York area since 1975 and has mounted thirty-one solo exhibitions over that period. Newly installed public art commissions include the Delancey Street MTA mosaic tile mural; Seattle Courthouse outdoor sculpture; Lluberas Park outdoor sculpture, Yauco, Puerto Rico; and the Portland Oregon Convention Center.
Artist Quote...
"In the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, I couldn't see putting an object in the space. I felt a functional statement would be appropriate. It is the imaginary journey before the real journey happens. In the lobby of this modern waiting room there are moments where the space is almost empty with people and then full again. The benches provide those moments of waiting with " invisible artwork" that is part of the space and act of public seating. I feel the experience of the space is about the thought of crossing over to the other side that goes back to the day when people had arrived at this point,"- Ming Fay
