With its crowded avenues and towering architecture, moments of calm and reflection are not easy to come by in New York City; a fact that has not been lost on artists Kevin Cooley and Phillip Andrew Lewis, whose new installation in the lobby of 55 5th Avenue in New York's Greenwich Village neighbourhood provides a little perspective on the city that never sleeps.
Using eight CCTV cameras installed on top of the building that frames views of the line between the Freedom Tower and the Empire State Building, the duo have concurrently set up eight monitors in the lobby that stream the captured footage live from the roof. Simultaneously looking north and south, the installation provides the building's residents and visitors with a new, yet impossible, view of this well-known skyline.
'I would say that the intention of the work is to create something thought-provoking, and that this intention is a thread that connects all AIB [Art-in-Buildings] projects,' says the installation's curator Jennie Lamensdorf. 'I like that this work has the potential to alter the way someone thinks of their geographical position within the city. If that makes someone feel restful or disorientated that's interesting to me, but neither of those feelings is the goal of the project.'
Sponsored by the Time Equities Inc. (TEI) Art-in-Buildings – a program that brings contemporary art to non-traditional exhibition spaces – the installation is the artists' sixth solo exhibition and first in Manhattan. Its title, The Long Division, references the north-south and east-west divisions of New York and explores recurring themes in the duo's oeuvre; in particular, a 2014 exhibition called In the Valley of the Sun, where the artists installed CCTV cameras and flat screen TVs in the shape of an arch at Sonoma State University in California. The result was a simulation of daylight created by tracing a 180° live view of the sky from sunrise to sunset.
The Long Division is a multi-channel video installation, delivering New York's skyline in a moving image
Broadcasted live, the images brighten and fade with the changing of days
The eight CCTV cameras installed on the roof of the building offer different viewpoints to the spectator
When assembled, these viewpoints provide the viewer with one overarching view of the city from myriad angles
Echoing the artists' previous project In the Valley of the Sun – which also made use of CCTV cameras and flat-screen TVs – The Long Division utilises technology to create unique sightings
Sponsored by the Time Equities Inc. (TEI) Art-in-Buildings – a program that brings contemporary art to non-traditional exhibition spaces – the installation constitutes the artists' first show in Manhattan
ADDRESS
55 5th Avenue,
NY 10003, New York
-
A new timber studio in the Czech Republic is carefully integrated into its hillside sitePäivä Architekti’s Czech Studio Above the Golden Canyon takes advantage of impressive views
-
Aussie vibes meet Parisian grandeur? This Sydney apartment pulls off the unlikely combinationLongtime clients of Dylan Farrell Design trusted the studio to go bold with the gut renovation of their Sydney flat – now an intriguing study in contrasts
-
Carlo Ratti reflects on his bold Venice Architecture Biennale as it closes this weekendThe Venice Architecture Biennale opens with excitement and fanfare every two years; as the 2025 edition draws to a close, we take stock with its curator Carlo Ratti and ask him, what next?
-
Ed Ruscha’s foray into chocolate is sweet, smart and very AmericanArt and chocolate combine deliciously in ‘Made in California’, a project from the artist with andSons Chocolatiers
-
Inside the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who captured portraits across West Africa‘Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens’, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, celebrates the 20th-century photographer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the capital this week
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAs we approach Frieze, our editors have been trawling the capital's galleries. Elsewhere: a 'Wineglass' marathon, a must-see film, and a visit to a science museum
-
June Leaf’s New York survey captures a life in motionJune Leaf made art in many forms for over seven decades, with an unstoppable energy and fierce appetite leading her to rationalise life in her own terms.
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
