This summer, a former military base in the Rockaways is home to a site-specific installation from one of the biggest names in the art world. Yayoi Kusama’s “Narcissus Garden” made up of 1,500 stainless steel, mirrored spheres, a foot in diameter, are spread across the floor of a dilapidated building at Fort Tilden, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.
Kusama first presented her “Garden” outside of the Venice Biennale in 1966 as an uninvited participant at the art fair (back then, the globes were made of plastic). Standing among the reflective spheres, barefoot and in a gold kimono, she sold them for $2 a piece with signs that said, “Your Narcissism for Sale.”
“I think her main thrust is that she wanted to talk about the art world and the fact that the art world was so enchanted with itself,” said Lynn Zelevansky, a freelance curator, and art historian. “The fact that most human beings on this planet could not afford the art that was being shown at the Venice Biennale and that’s why she sold the balls for $2 each.”
Italian authorities eventually shut her down, but the installation has continued with shows in places such as Central Park (2004), the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris (2010) and recently at the Glass House in Connecticut (2016).
Now, it’s part of “Rockaway!” a free public art show created in 2014 led by Klaus Biesenbach, director of MoMA PS1, and the artist Patti Smith, with the support of the Rockaway Artists Alliance, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, National Park Service, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Biesenbach and Smith have homes in the Rockaways and saw first-hand the damage to the area from Sandy in 2012 (More recently, there’s been even more erosion, leading to the closure of popular beaches). Through the art series, they, along with the other participating organizations hope to bring attention to the need to rebuild and reinforce the region.
“I think it’s very important to not to think about ‘Rockaway!’ as a festival for art's sake,” said Biesenbach at the unveiling of Kusama’s work. “It really has a different meaning and I think it’s very important for us that it’s raising awareness for this very vulnerable area here.”
An artist like Kusama who draws large crowds (and lots of Instagram attention) might bring the kind of attention the “Rockaways!” is hoping for (as long as the visitors aren’t too narcissistic).
Check out Gothamist for more pictures and here for directions.
"Narcissus Garden" is open Friday through Sunday, 12-6 pm at Gateway National Recreation Area in Fort Tilden through September 3, 2018.