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| Allan and Ellen Wexler |
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See Also Abstractions
See Also Drawing
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West Side High School Park
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Completion Date:
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1999
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Medium:
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Brick, artificial turf, Plexiglas, fiberglass, paint
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Dimensions:
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n/a
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Location:
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West Side High School
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Address:
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140 West 102nd Street, Manhattan
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Architect:
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John Ciardullo Associates, P.C.
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Sponsor Agency:
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Board of Education
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Design Agency:
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School Construction Authority
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Allan and Ellen Wexler created an artificial park for the front entrance to West Side High School. The artists raised sections of the brick and cement floor to create an urban landscape that incorporates man-made nature into its mathematical grid. Taxicab-yellow boulders, lush green AstroTurf, and blue opaque Lucite water, lit from below, provide not a real park, but an interpretation of nature with apparent artificiality. Ellen Wexler wrote: "Integrating art into schools is a challenge and opportunity to open up eyes and awaken curiosities … . The students have a new school and we want them to really see it. We want to enhance their relationship to their school, by giving them the eyes of an artist."
About the Artist...
For 25 years, Ellen and Allan's research has resulted in objects, buildings and environments that blur the borders between sculpture, landscape, furniture and architecture. The Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York City has represented Allan since 1984 where he has had six solo exhibitions. Allan has had numerous national and international solo shows, has lectured internationally and has been reviewed by major art and architecture periodicals and newspapers. Allan has an undergraduate degree in architecture and art from the Rhode Island School of Design and a master of architecture degree from Pratt Institute. He has taught art and architecture for 25 years, currently in the Department of Architecture at Pratt Institute, NYC. Ellen has a B.F.A. degree in Arts Education and Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. Ellen has worked extensively in the field of arts education. She has developed a design and architecture curriculum for sixth grade students in the New York City Public schools (1994-1995), as well as written The Art of Looking: Teacher's Guide, a publication for public school art teachers (2000). Ellen and Allan have collaborated on several projects including Tables of Content, site-specific picnic tables in Douglas Park, Santa Monica, CA (2000) and Learning to Look, an installation at the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia (1999).
