Dumbo NYC

Notes from the DUMBO, Brooklyn NY neighborhood


Art Installation Removed at Empire Stores

May 14th, 2009

art scaffolding

art scaffolding

It was fun while it lasted, even for less than a week. The De-Fence Project is (or rather was) a site-specific display that is integrated into the 300ft long wooden fence running atop a sidewalk bridge of the Empire Stores building in the Empire-Fulton State Park in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The mural is composed of 60 plywood panels attached above and below the fence utilizing the existing wooden framework. Evolving from left to right, the pattern features a variety of natural shapes, such as jellyfish, leaves, and birds.

John Jeffreys, president and creative director of Exhibitology Incorporated, which funded the project emailed to us “This project is a great example of how the unsightly can easily be made more beautiful and interesting.” Although it was a nice way to dress up an otherwise bland scaffold, State Park officials had it taken down yesterday because the group did not get permission to put up the artwork. According to Jeffreys, “Due to time constraints, Exhibitology was not able to secure permission in time to for the May 7th install and thus The State’s position is that anything that they can’t control is not allowed.” We’re sad to see this go down, but hope they’ll bring back more art in the area.

{State park cops reuglify DUMBO building, 13May2009, Brooklyn Paper}
{De-Fence Project Destroyed, 13May2009, Gothamist}
{Art being removed, 11May2009, McBrooklyn}
{Discussion on DumboNYC, 09May2009}

Filed in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, Streetart at 3:50 am
View Comments
  • "Due to time constraints, Exhibitology was not able to secure permission in time to for the May 7th install..."

    I like how there was an official install date for an illegal (however cool) art project and that it was the justification for not getting permission. Seriously, public artists, do us all a favor and ask first so we can actually enjoy your work for a while.
  • VH
    Just a thought to throw out there...I think the idea is great, I like their re-working of the sidewalk shed.
    Of course, they also made a fool of the guys who are in charge of that space. It poison's any future working relationship to getting something long-term in there.
  • Anon
    Haha the only way you could walk into any part of it with your face is if you were crawling through the bars of the scaffolding to begin with. None of it was unsafe unless a hurricane blew down Water Street. It's a shame it was only up for a few days. But, beauty is fleeting sometimes...
  • Mike
    If someone manages to walk into anything "with their faces" then I think they shouldn't be walking the streets of NYC at all. Water st. isn't a crowded street where people have to dodge other pedestrians while they mosey on down the road. Oh and crazy drivers speeding down that belgian block street? Pretty weak argument. Again, I agree that the artist should have gotten permission 1st, but cries of the scaffolding art being unsafe while the tobacco warehouse literally crumbles with age are a bit agitating. The state needs to spend more time finding a sponsor to rehabilitate the warehouse and less time worrying about well intentioned art "vandalising" crappy scaffolding.
  • VH
    Yep, Bridge & Water. I know which you are talking about. Surprised it did not take out a car. I never walk under that thing.
  • detroit Dave
    Ok..

    It was very cool. I met the people they were very nice, and were not bitching at all that they had to remove it.

    They didn't have permission which I wish they could have done to make it a longer display happen.

    The Bottom portion of the art hanging below the scaffolding was very dangerous. I stoped two people from walking into it with their faces. So that part needed to be thought out a litte bit more.

    If scafloding looks unsafe Please call 311 to get action by the Dept. of Buildings. I do this once a week for the one on bridge and water forcing them to continue to make repairs.
  • VH
    If they had actually taken the time and effort to secure permission, do it the right way, then people could enjoy it. But to choose to just throw it up, and moan that the "man" is taking away their fun. Come on, High-School is over.

    Let's face the facts, it can be either a "yuppie" or a "hipster", but if somebody splits open their head, I promise you they will sue. Why should more of my tax money go to stupid litigation that can easily be prevented.
  • j.d.
    BTW, I am all for yuppie gentrification. I have no nostalgia for gritty, crime ridden, crack infested, old school brooklyn misguided people seem to yearn for.
  • 2cent
    Beaurocracy and liability. Liability is ruining all the fun. If you have to dodge the dumbo "speedsters" you might hit your head and sue. Which would mean your dumb and you don't take responsibility for your said dumbness.
    Of course, to consider, there is the initial response of getting a scaffold up at, guessing here, tens of thousands a year, to stop the dumb guys from getting hit in the head by debris and litigating.
    After all those head hits are the dumb, lack of accountability guys still able to sue?
    I'm a yuppie gentrifier by the way.
  • Mike
    The art install was truly fantastic and imaginative. The artist should have gotten approval, but for the state to call this vandalism is taking it too far. I hope the artists consider submitting an official proposal and that the state allows the project to go back up. It's amazing what a little art can do for a desolate stretch...
  • j.d.
    While I agree the art was pleasant, imagine the lawsuit headaches the city has to face if a piece of unauthorized art fell on some yuppie gentrifier strolling by.
  • WaterSt.
    wow. a great example of how painfully dumb bureaucracy ruins a good thing... thank you to the organizers who worked hard to make this happen, it was wonderful while it lasted.
  • dumbostreets
    I see these things all over the place, sometimes left up for years and they really diminish our nice old buildings.

    Has anyone really gotten hurt by a piece of falling facade or is this just some way a contractor rips of the city in a vast insurance scam??

    I'd like to see some before and after data concerning injuries resulting from falling bits. I suspect it is a big bogus money suck.
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