Artists who feel their work can only be meaningful in the place for which it was created are an increasingly rare breed, finds Zoë Lescaze.
Last July, after months of frantic protests and petitions, Philip Johnson’s audacious postmodern icon on Madison Avenue, the AT&T skyscraper known for its gigantic arch and notched Chippendale roof, became a landmark, a designation that blocked proposed changes to the facade. Architecture fans rejoiced, but no one said anything about the second-floor lobby, where a pair of radiant red and gold frescoes, two of the artist Dorothea Rockburne’s most important works, remained. The Olayan Group, the investors who own the building, have so far agreed only to communicate with Rockburne, who currently has a long-term installation at Dia:Beacon in upstate New York, through a second party. The firm says her paintings are still in place, “fully protected,” and that they are “safeguarding their future,” but Rockburne doubts they will survive the interior renovations that were announced in December.'... Keep reading on the New York Times
Last July, after months of frantic protests and petitions, Philip Johnson’s audacious postmodern icon on Madison Avenue, the AT&T skyscraper known for its gigantic arch and notched Chippendale roof, became a landmark, a designation that blocked proposed changes to the facade. Architecture fans rejoiced, but no one said anything about the second-floor lobby, where a pair of radiant red and gold frescoes, two of the artist Dorothea Rockburne’s most important works, remained. The Olayan Group, the investors who own the building, have so far agreed only to communicate with Rockburne, who currently has a long-term installation at Dia:Beacon in upstate New York, through a second party. The firm says her paintings are still in place, “fully protected,” and that they are “safeguarding their future,” but Rockburne doubts they will survive the interior renovations that were announced in December.'... Keep reading on the New York Times