The indignity of an outdoor sculpture

Everyone who walks by has something to say regarding her zaftig figure, nakedness, and yesterday’s snowfall. We can’t help but anthropomorphize. Living on the sidewalk is no picnic.

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Metrotech Christmas tree

When I walked past, I didn’t think the lights were turned on – this is a somewhat understated tree, despite the bows. The picket fence seemed a little suburban, but nearby is a Tom Otterness sculpture of a manhole alligator with its jaws wrapped around a smaller creature. We are in an alternate universe here in Metrotech.

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Art by the park

This sculpture, made of three painted plywood panels, sits where Parkside meets Ocean Avenue, at one corner of Prospect Park. (The park, being an irregular shape, has more than four corners.) The paintings show historic Brooklyn through a combination of portraits, architecture, storefronts, and signage. This one is of downtown Brooklyn and the Fulton Street shopping area.

Though it’s nothing more than rumor, I still like to think that E.J. Korvette’s got its name from Eight Jewish Korean War Veterans. The discount department store chain began to decline in the mid-1960’s, was eventually sold to a French corporation, and breathed its last breath in 1980. Though Junior’s remains at the corner of Flatbush, the Fulton Street landscape is now dominated by sneaker, phone, and low-budget clothing stores.

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Dog’s lost his master

Tony Matelli’s Stray Dog, at Metrotech, is an effective piece of public art. It’s not overly complicated yet elicits varied emotional reactions. Small kids love to climb on the sculpture because it’s a life-size, immobile dog. Older viewers respond to the dog’s expression and the harness on its back. You feel the loss while being aware of the manipulation of the piece.

Last time I saw the sculpture, when I was at Metrotech visiting the waffle, the dog looked even more forlorn, standing in snow and covered in schmutz up to his knees.

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Big waffle in the snow

Sculpture at Metrotech by Martha Friedman

Other than that new Dunkin Donuts waffle sandwich that just seems wrong, who doesn’t like waffles? There’s a slice off the side of this 7-foot tall waffle that implies human tampering, or it could be melting. Friedman’s waffle is also a neat comment on the ubiquitous grid of modern art.

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Suddenly, last summer @ Metrotech

(With apologies to Tennessee Williams.) Few go out of their way to visit Metrotech, so when you find yourself there looking at a great installation, it’s a surprise that can almost take your breath away. With 3-6 inches of snow predicted, I am remembering fondly an oppressively hot Saturday when a friend from out of town and I were sitting on the benches under the trees eating scrambled egg on bagel sandwiches (unavailable anywhere else in the US according to her) when we looked up and noticed the artwork.

Tony Feher’s piece, A Little Bird Told Me, consisted of plastic water bottles partly filled with red liquid draped above reach over branches of seven trees. The bright bottles looked fruitlike, as if they belonged there, despite their obvious artificialness. Not quite cartoonish, the colorful bottles were a playful presence.

The Public Art Fund does an outstanding job putting together art shows at Metrotech. Say the heck with the weather. Take a detour, especially on a weekend, when it’s deserted, to see what’s on display.

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