Fringe is a series of public art projects, commissioned for DWNTWN Art Days, that challenge the formal exhibition space by offering visitors an art experience based on site, context, situation specificity. This years Fringe was curated by Legal Art resident, Amanda Sanfilippo. We documented many of them for those who weren’t able to make it out, except Standard Custom Logo Bench (above) – a ready-made park bench by Tom Scicluna (Miami), and Pennies From Heaven, composed of a heap of nearly $1000 in change in an outdoor fountain and stolen overnight.
Godzilla: Reed van Brunschot (Miami)
These inflatable Godzilla sculptures animated the exterior architecture of The Artisans Lounge. The oversized shapes comically jutting out of their boundaries used the humorous metaphor of a monster taking over the city to address the quotidian aspects of daily life in plain sight of Metromover commuters and neighborhood residents.
Growing the Future(GFC): Margaret Mclnroe (Miami)
The site-specific installation was made of air duct and wheat grass plantings at DRB. It gestures to the 1982 Wheatfield, a confrontation by Agnes Denes in lower Manhattan, where 2 acres of wheat were planted then harvested for bread. It also pokes fun at the production and consumption of wheatgrass juice.
It Takes Two: Daniele Frazier (Brooklyn)
It Takes Two featured two 18-foot moving inflatable elements, one a giant hammer and the other a giant nail. The two inflateables danced between these two iconic symbols of construction and progress. It intended to serve as a slapstick metaphor about cooperation while also commenting on the rapid commercial development of downtown Miami.
the new Monuments: Gean Moreno (Miami)
the new MONUMENTS was a series of text-based takeaway posters exploring the possibilities that exist for the monument after the material dissolution of sculpture. They were also placed around Downtown Miami, evoking a more direct relationship with contexts and people that live among public sites. The series considers the newfound function, presentation, and interpretation of such markers.
Pennies From Heaven: Trenton Duerksen, (Brooklyn)
In this project monies from the commission fee are converted into pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. The coins were delivered at the sight and tossed into the middle of the fountain on the Brickell World Plaza, which will require wading for a short distance. They chose the location because of it’s proximity to the water, visibility,and the belief that it wouldn’t be accessible unless one is to took the plunge.
The installation was recorded, but not advertised as a performance. Nor was it be covert. The resulting activity, which ended up being the theft of the money, was recorded by the Plaza’s security cameras.
“The piece was installed Thursday, September 19th in the early evening, around 5:30pm, and was taken over night. It was discovered missing around 2pm on Friday, September 20th. The event of his happening is in a sense “completion” of the artwork – in a sense it answered the question which was posed: what happens when money is out in broad daylight in a public place? Who is public art for? What are the relationships of public space to art and of art to a public? How “secure” are our public spaces? It is important to note that the initial project featured loose change, the project proposal changed to a sculpture where change would be glued to a foam form which would float in the fountain and look like a mirage. Conceptually the final work was different that simply change in a fountain.” Amanda Sanfilippo