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Art to Bring New York Plaza Back to the Public

Posted by: Nate Berg

14 March 2009 - 7:00am

In an effort to reclaim a public plaza at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge that was demolished in the 1960s by Robert Moses, artist Brian Tolle is reconstructing the statues that once adorned the plaza.

"Just in time for the bridge’s 100th birthday, artist Brian Tolle is busy rectifying this unhappy situation."

"'It is becoming a new kind of public space,' Tolle said, wearing black overalls and a scarf in his chilly Williamsburg studio. 'When Robert Moses demolished the plaza in the 60s, I think the attitude was that art got in the way of progress.'"

"In 2007, Tolle won a Design Award from New York City and with it the commission to create a permanent installation at the bridge -- a work that should help reclaim the area for human beings."

"Tolle is constructing near-replicas of a pair of sculptures by Daniel Chester French. The allegorical figures representing Manhattan and Brooklyn in female form sat at the bridge’s entrance from 1916 until 1963."

Full Story: Art, People Triumph Over Traffic in $23 Million Brooklyn Rehab
Source: Bloomberg, March 12, 2009
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