As often happens, we received a heads-up today about a monumental installation arriving in the tiny Duarte Square Park. This thoughtful installation, named SuperStorm, was created by the artist, Robert Lobe.
SuperStorm references Hurricane Sandy, one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricane to hit the northeast, inflicting billion in damage. This event so moved the artist that he was compelled to create a monument reflecting the event. Using art in a way to warn against climate change, SuperStorm is comprised of a majestic tree and boulder, hammered out of metal in the forest over an actual tree and rock that was “blown to bits” during this terrible storm. Lobe worked in the forest along the Appalachian Trail in Northwest New Jersey at Harmony Ridge Farm and Campground creating this monument.
The logistics of this installation required the fabrication and installation of a 4,000 pound-base, support structure to anchor a twelve-foot cantilever safely above our heads in clear view of pedestrians, motorists, and all those sitting in the park.
The installation, SuperStorm, addresses the subject of global warming, symbolizing what has become our new normal. Luming large within Duarte Park, the monument shows the unfriendly side of nature ~ a remnant and warning.
Robert Lobe: SuperStorm will be on view until June 2020 at Duarte Square Park, bounded by Sullivan Street, Grand Street, and the Avenue of the Americas at the intersection of Canal Street. The project is sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts, New York Council on the Arts, NYC Cultural Affairs, with funding from a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship.
The Park also houses a bronze statue of Juan Pablo Duarte (1813-1876), the liberator of the Dominican Republic. Duarte Square underwent a major upgrade in 2017 by design team Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (who also worked on projects that include the Lowline Lab and Pier 55). In addition, it includes a Citi Bike Station.
We thank Connie Lee, President of Marcus Garvey Park Alliance and Director of Public Art Initiative for the heads-up on this thoughtful installation, and access to the artist.