By james art If you walked past Madison Square Park in Manhattan this morning, you may have noticed a very large red crane lying on its side on one of the main lawns across from the busy dog runs. Rest assured, this is not a construction project gone horribly wrong, but rather the Madison Square Park Conservancy’s latest contemporary art commission.
Nicole Eisenman’s “Fixed Crane” (2024) closes the Conservancy’s remarkable 20th anniversary as the fourth and final installation of the year and will remain on view until March 9, 2025.
So why faucet of all things? And why is he dozing instead of standing straight?
Introducing the project this morning, October 23, ahead of the official opening tomorrow night, Eisenman explained that the idea behind the construction vehicle has everything to do with land use decisions and perceptions of achievement through urban development in New York. The crane is presented laterally rather than in its monumental scale – perhaps commenting on declining investment in accessible, resource-oriented public spaces as private developers continue their race to the top to benefit those already looking down from some level .
“I love a dynamic skyline as much as the next person, but shouldn’t these massive and lavish construction projects participate in the life of the city and not just be citadels for the rich?” Eisenman remarked during his brief description of the project, bringing out a personal account of how she watched a busy supermarket near her studio become an empty lobby accessible only to a few.
Eisenman made that wish come true by placing the crane, a 1969 Link-Belt brought from Kentucky, in the public park, scattering some of its heavy parts in clusters of accessible seating around the lawn, which is usually enclosed by a fence. The artist has also added some subtle decorations to the vehicle, inviting a closer look, if not encouraging playtime. There’s even a little secret peephole with a special surprise inside for the insatiably curious.
Stripped of its intimidating height and left to be rebuilt by humans, Fixed Crane aims to project a dignified future rooted in what the human mind is capable of achieving.
“I can imagine it as a giant Tonka toy that’s been knocked over,” Eisenman said. “The crane, lying in its city pasture, gave up. It’s a dream of what could be.
