Art in Public Places expanded this year to include eight works in Lummus Park between 10th Street and 14th Street on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, including a "Tree Hut" similar to the one above, by Tadashi Kawanata, and an Ai Weiwei sculpture on Watson Island, near the Children’s Museum and the site of the Island Gardens development and marina.
The public pieces range from the untitled to the sardonically conceptual and beyond. They are Olaf Breuning’s “Untitled” (2008), a sculpture of a bikini-clad girl, which sits behind the Sagamore Hotel at 17th and Collins; Cooper’s “Dark Fountain” (2008) – think the opposite of the fountain of life; Dora García’s “Crowd” (2001 – 2008), 20 minute conceptual performances (definition, they will sound more interesting when you explain them than they were to watch); Thomas Houseago’s “Untitled” (2008), a large-scale aluminum sculpture; Tadashi Kawamata’s “Tree Huts” (2008), look up – tree houses!; Jiri Kovanda’s “Actions and Installations” (1970’s – 2008), art interventions, more annoying than mimes!; Ana Linnemann’s “The Invisibles” (2008), a palm tree that spins, and then stays still. Gotcha!; and Thomas Zipp’s “Untitled” (2008), a surrealist marble sculpture of a human torso.
On Watson Island, Ai Weiwei’s “Bubble” (2008) seems pretty conventional by comparison. It is a site-specific work consisting of 100 ceramic bubbles that cover less than a quarter of an acre overlooking downtown Miami. Visitors are invited to “interact” with “Bubbles.” We see major photo ops: wear something that contrasts with blue – orange, perhaps?
During the day, a shuttle bus leaves the Convention Center every 30 minutes destined for the artworks. Nights at Lummus Park will take place Thursday and Friday evening from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. featuring performances by Jiří Kovanda that are described as “interventions,” which means they are even harder to make sense of than conceptual pieces. Just be careful he doesn’t put candy in your pockets.
Oh, and one more thing: all of the pieces are being shown by galleries, and are for sale for the right price.
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