Artist Talk: “Eco-Traces” at Flushing Meadows Corona Park as part of “Endangered Fossils”
Artist Talk Date: Saturday, August 21st, 2021
Artist Talk Time: 1 – 2 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: August 2021 – April 2022
Location: South Rose Garden, near the Queens Museum and Unisphere, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
NYC Art in the Parks Related Info: Installation Details
“What is it like to be an artist and what does it take to create a work of art? Find out firsthand when artist Judith Modrak, whose sculpture, “Endangered Fossils” is the latest addition to our park’s collection of outdoor art, speaks in the South Rose Garden near the Unisphere. Ms. Modrak’s talk , “Eco-Traces,” focuses on how she created “Endangered Fossils” and shares insights into her process and some of the ideas behind the new sculpture. “Endangered Fossils represents an imagined archaeological excavation of New York State’s large fossil record,” she says. The sculpture, located in the South Rose Garden now through April 2022, is on view at the talk and visitors are invited to ask questions about it after the talk – a rare treat when viewing a work of art. “A lot of people and organizations make my art possible,” she says. “This artwork, in addition to NYC Parks, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and private donors, owes a debt of gratitude to the fabricators at Sculpture House and the installers at Mariano Brothers.” The talk is free, and adults and children of all ages are welcome. Please bring a blanket or a low chair.”
~Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance, August 2021
“Endangered Fossils” represent an imagined archaeological excavation of New York State’s large fossil record. The sculptures are inspired by the trilobites, brachiopods and crinoids who flourished during the Devonian period, ~400 million years ago. These crab, clam, and starfish like organisms lived in marine environments very similar to the coral reefs of today. The project ponders the origin of the ecosystem we inhabit and our role, relationship, and responsibility to that environment in light of cataclysmic climate change and global pandemics.
Fósiles en peligro de extinción representa una excavación arqueológica figurada del gran registro fósil del estado de Nueva York. Las esculturas están inspiradas en los trilobites, braquiópodos y crinoideos que florecieron durante el período Devónico, hace 400 millones de años. Estos organismos similares al cangrejo, la almeja y la estrella de mar vivían en ambientes marinos muy similares a los arrecifes de coral de hoy en día. El proyecto reflexiona sobre el origen del ecosistema que habitamos y nuestro papel, relación y responsabilidad con ese medio ambiente a la luz del catastrófico cambio climático y las pandemias mundiales.