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Drifting in Daylight: Art in Central Park

Date uploaded: February 13, 2015

On Friday, May 15th, Creative Time and Central Park Conservancy will unveil Drifting in Daylight, a springtime pathway of art winding through one of the world’s most iconic park. As the centerpiece of Central Park Conservancy’s 35th Anniversary celebration, this free public exhibition aims to draw visitors into the park’s beautiful north end, much of which has been expertly restored by the Conservancy.

The six-weekend show will tempt visitors to transcend their busy lives, losing themselves along a playful trail of sensory experiences.

Each Friday and Saturday afternoon from the 15th May to the 20th June 2015, visitors will be able to play, lick and dance their way through the park — primarily in its northern end, where, according to the program’s co-curator Cara Starke, “You tend to feel that ‘getting lost’ that was a part of the original vision” of the park’s chief architect Frederick Law Olmsted. This may be the most geographically expansive arts project in Central Park since the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 2005 installation the Gates was placed along 23 miles of paths in 2005. “The Gates was like a trumpet. This will be like a little harpsichord in the background,” says Elizabeth Kaledin, a conservancy spokesperson. “Drifting in Daylight” offers more subtle artistic interventions, adds Doug Blonsky, the conservancy’s president and C.E.O.: it is intended to celebrate “the quiet of the park and the surprises one can find wandering its paths.”

The performance, video and photo artist David Levine‘s project will involve reenactments of famous film scenes set in Central Park, minus the movie stars. “Even if you grow up in New York,” as Levine did, “you learn how to see the park through the movies,” he says. Friday afternoon’s frigid cold didn’t thwart his “test-run” of a scene from Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” that was shot near West 101st Street. Parkgoers shouldn’t be surprised to find themselves in a scene from “Hair,” “Cruel Intentions,” “Wall Street,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “Marathon Man” or any of the 60-plus other films he is considering.

For more information about this project click here or visit Creative Times website by clicking here.