‘Vista’ on display at Socrates Sculpture Park

Socrates Sculpture Park is giving the community a chance to enjoy the outdoors while also taking in some artwork.
“Vista” its spring exhibition, opened on May 8 and will be on display through August 7. Curator Alyson Baker explained that each spring artists apply and submit proposals for what they’d like to create.
“What’s great about these spring shows is they’re very, very responsive to what artists want to do here,” she said.
As artists applications were being reviewed, Baker said that she noticed many of the projects involved different points of view or ways of seeing things, framing and focusing the viewer’s attention. They also were closely related to Socrates Sculpture Park’s 2002 exhibition “View.”
The current exhibit explores “the ways that methods of viewing and observation determine the assessment and evaluation of an object or scene.” It features 11 artists – Ivan Argote, Jillian Conrad, Priscila De Carvalho, Blane De St. Croix, Michael Clyde Johnson, Leif Low-beer, Steven Millar, Slinko, Howie Sneider, Rob Swainston and Jason Tomme.
Baker said that when visitors come to the park they aren’t looking just at “static works of art, but also the process.” She noted that in the case of “Vista,” their interaction is also required, since some of the pieces include specific viewing positions. And, by looking at the pieces from different positions, Baker said visitors get to see them in many different ways.
“In general, Socrates is a place that’s as much about the production as it is about the presentation,” she said. “It’s a very dynamic place.”
Socrates Sculpture Park gives people a unique experience to view art that is far different from a typical gallery or museum set up. First of all, Baker said that all of the park’s activities are layered into other activities. So if someone is there for a film screening, they are experiencing it in the atmosphere created by the artists.
Additionally, she said the experience can be altered by the weather, other activities going on and the time of day, among other things. Baker said that, where museums or galleries can feel isolated, at the park the exhibition feels more like it’s a part of daily life.
In addition to the exhibition, Socrates is currently holding a fitness program and workshops for kids, teens and adults. They will hold their Summer Solstice Celebration on Tuesday, June 21 and Makers Market from June 24 to June 26. The outdoor cinema festival will take place in July and August.
Socrates Sculpture Park is located at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City and is open from 10 a.m. to sunset 365 days a year. There is no charge for admission.
For more information, visit www.socratesscupturepark.org or call 718-956-1819. Baker noted that interested parties can arrange for a tour and can contact the main office for further information.