| Frente Feroz (Ferocious Front) is a permanent, site-specific, public art project commissioned by real estate developer Eugene Giscombe for the Lee Building at 125th Street and Park Avenue, New York City. This installation was inspired by Mr. Giscombe’s passionate interest in exotic, wild animals, and Harlem itself.
Statement:
Since I was a teenager, living in Peru, I’ve always wanted to do a project in or about Harlem because I was intrigued by its cultural importance. 125th Street is the heart and soul of this vibrant area. It is a place where cultural, political and social ideas are produced and exchanged. I am still learning about the complexity and the nature of this neighborhood as a whole.
The installation was created by projecting colored lights in a deliberate, looped sequence, controlled by a computer onto rear projection screens covering large windows. Over-sized silhouettes of animals made of foamboard, painted black create moving shadows in the windows. The sequence begins just before sunset and ends just before sunrise. The lighting controller calculates these astronomical events based on the location of New York City (40° 46’N x 73° 58’W) and its five time zone west difference from Greenwich /Mean Time. As the seasons change, the controller tracks the exact times of dusk and dawn, as wells as accounting for Day Light Savings Time.
Frente Feroz is meant to capture the attention, however fleeting, of passers-by on the street and commuters on the adjacent MTA Metro North platform. The location becomes a port of intrigue for one of the most diverse areas of New York. The installation has the capacity to evoke responses that are as varied as the population. Every individual that views the silhouettes will have a different and lingering interpretation, making it public yet personal. The display creates a desire to return to the location as well as to bring others to view this unique scene. |
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