Quick! There’s a suburban home sinking in the middle of Times Square! Artist David Brooks, with the help of The Art Production Fund, has installed “Desert Rooftops,” a massive sculpture that represents suburban over-development and its effect on our natural landscapes. The 5,000-square-foot sculpture is made of a number of constructed suburban shingled roofs assembled in a way that presents an image of rolling asphalt hills or dunes. Brooks is commenting on the environmental issues and desertification of land to constantly build new housing developments.
Natural landscapes are over worked and dried out from our continuous building of enormous developments faster than people can buy them. The very action of Brooks’ team building essentially functionless rooftops is both humorous and upsetting, echoing this overproduction of homes.
“Desert Rooftops”is the first piece to be featured in The Art Production Fund’s Last Lot space. The space is prominently featured on 46th Street and 8th Avenues, near the heart of Times Square. Though the sculpture is geared more towards suburban issues, its placement and construction in a highly coveted open lot in midtown Manhattan brings the issues of space and environmental conservation a bit closer to home.
“Desert Rooftops” will be on view through February 5th, 2012.
via Gothamist
images via Art Production Fund’s Facebook and Gothamist
I think it is perfectly placed. The people developing and living in these Rooftop Deserts likely work in NYC and/or live in the “burbs.”
I think there is another timely interpretation to this installation. Sinking values, many of these suburban home are “underwater” as they say in value. What a great time of year to have this message in the faces of people visiting Times Square.