“In public art we should be neighborly. Artists assume this big, mystical figure. I think it is not necessarily so. You can be a regular citizen and create something amazing.” —Siah Armajani
The Public Art Fund takes us back to Brooklyn’s DUMBO waterfront for the installation Siah Armajani: Bridge Over Tree. First conceived for a Minneapolis public park in 1970, the simplicity and pleasing qualities of the project belie how radical the work was for an Iranian immigrant artist nearly 50 years ago, with its underlying message of art as political activism for everyone. In this video, Nicholas Baume, Public Art Fund Director and Chief Curator, walks us through the installation and Armajani talks about the value of public art.
Siah Armajani (b. 1939, Tehran) is currently featured in the exhibition Siah Armajani: Follow This Line, now on view at the Met Breuer through June 2, 2019, after an acclaimed run at the Walker Art Center in the second half of 2018.
Video by SandenWolff Productions.