Broadway Blooms, A 93-block Exhibition For The Everyday Passerby, Brings Sculpture Art To City Streets

Upper West Side NY

25 October, 2021

1:10 PM

Description

Columbia Daily Spectator BY HANA GALLAGHER OCTOBER 24, 2021 Students at Columbia and Barnard may have noticed a sculpture nestled in the traffic island on Broadway between the Columbia and Barnard campuses. Entitled "Broadway Blooms: Jon Isherwood on Broadway," the exhibition combines natural forms with the urban environment to create an easily accessible visual and spatial display. Sculptures are scattered in traffic islands along Broadway between 64th Street and 157th Street, roughly aligned with 1 train subway stations. Isherwood is a sculptor and university lecturer whose work has been displayed in museums and galleries across the world. His sculptures emphasize sensuality and seek to evoke a sense of physicality through his combination of high-tech carving methods and the age-old medium of marble. According to a press release by the artist, blooms were chosen "in part because the imagery is accessible to the many people that navigate these intersections in their daily lives." Columbia students encounter Isherwood's blooms every day, as do thousands of other New Yorkers. In order to experience all eight blooms, one must don their best walking shoes and set off from Lincoln Center. The journey begins on 64th Street at Bloom 1, entitled "The Earth Laughs." Bloom 1 is really two blooms, carved from marble and placed atop a marble slab. These blooms are subtle despite their size, blending in with their surroundings. According to Isherwood's statement, "The natural forms offer visual and psychological relief from the road, traffic, and architecture in which they are situated." The sculpture's natural coloration and soft form achieve this against the harsh and busy urban setting. Upon finding the first bloom, continue on to 72nd Street in search of Bloom 2, entitled "A Gift between Two." This piece is double-ended, fused with a large piece of smooth marble creating a bench. Not only is Bloom 2 a piece of art, it is also a place to sit down and rest. This is something Isherwood could have done with the rest of his blooms but did not, opting for aesthetics over function. Yet Bloom 2 appears to achieve both, intentionally or not. There is no time to rest, however, as the remaining six blooms call. Bloom 3, "Live in the Sunshine," almost escapes view, nestled among the subway grates by 79th Street. The blasts of hot air from the subway add an unexpected sensory experience to the viewing of the large marble iris. This bloom is highly detailed: The interior of the flower is covered in uniform ridges, following the shape of the petals, leading to the bumps and grooves of the pollen center. The smooth, curved leading lines of the back exterior of the flower contrast with the textured interior, indicative of a pattern of contrast that becomes more evident as the exhibition progresses. You can find Bloom 4 in front of some pigeon-encrusted public bathrooms on 96th Street. Entitled "Given and Received," Bloom 4 feels far more oppositional than any of the other dual blooms. Neither physically connected nor identical in shape or color, these two blooms sit separately with only the marble podium uniting them. One pink and one dark green, these blooms feel separated, yet from the back, the pink bloom seems to be reaching out to the other. At this point, the title becomes clear, as the elongated back end of one bloom gives in toward the other. Approach 103rd Street to find Bloom 5, "A Chance's Wish." This bloom is skillfully crafted out of white marble, while the petals of the flower unfurl in a spiral, mirrored by the ridges carved into the marble. From the back, Bloom 5 resembles a conch shell, spiraling in a uniform yet natural way, blending in with the environment while contrasting the harsh angles of the urban surroundings. Though the walk to Bloom 6 may have you thinking you're on your way to campus, the Columbia gates are not your ultimate destination this time around. Bloom 6, "As Always Yours," is a familiar sight on 117th Street. These two small interlocking flowers have undoubtedly been spotted by students crossing the street between Columbia and Barnard. More compact than other blooms, they face opposite directions yet are almost identical in shape and form. The gray marble next to the black-and-white marble provides a contrast of light and dark, patterned and solid. After enduring a 31-block stretch from Bloom 6, you finally reach Bloom 7, "After Giverny," on 148th Street, where you are greeted by an upright rectangular marble slab with a floral pattern carved all over. This is a marked departure from the style of the other works in the collection. Bloom 8, "The Gifting Angel," follows this pattern, but this time the slab is rounded in shape, once again resembling a seashell. Reaching the final bloom is incredibly satisfying after a long trek. Only eight sculptures between 93 blocks makes the exhibition feel a little sparse, but if getting your daily steps in is your priority then this is one artistically pleasing way to do it. There are a few months remaining to view the exhibition, as "Broadway Blooms" remains up through Spring 2022. The location of the blooms by subway stations puts the sculptures at a prime location for casual everyday viewing, and their unobtrusive presence allows them to exist in natural harmony with the built environment. "Broadway Blooms" is well suited to viewing spontaneously in passing as well as by intentionally walking from Bloom 1 to Bloom 8 in sequence, adding another layer of interest to the visual environment without intruding on the space. Staff writer Hana Gallagher can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. 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