Photo by Howard Gilman
Two major non-permanent works of public art have flown the coop in Maplewood — with plans to alight again (hopefully) next summer.
The Maplewood 4th of July Committee was planning to meet on Saturday morning, August 22 to “lower” the flag on the baseball diamond backstop in Memorial Park — as well as dismantle the giant eagle on another backstop, but the Department of Public Works beat them to it.
The two works needed to come done as they interfered with other uses for the backstops. The works are also ephemeral in nature and would start deteriorating over time and with weather.
The flag and the eagle were the brainchild of local artist Benjamin John Kaufman who creates a community art project for the Maplewood 4th of July festivities each year. The flag debuted in 2014 and was so successful that it returned in 2015 — joined by the eagle.
From a distance, both projects read as a one piece of art; however, a close-up viewing reveals that they are each made up of 96 individual tiles or art works — some featuring portraits, balloons, fruits, feathers, dishware and even a plastic dinosaur. (See our photo gallery of individual tiles from last year’s flag here.)
To create the projects, members of the public were invited to collect a board or pixel and — using a template — interpret the design in a way that contributed to the overall scheme. Finally, the pixels were installed and united, creating large-scale works of art that stunned and thrilled visitors.
The Department of Public Works is holding any leftover pixels temporarily if you need to collect yours. Contact DPW at (973) 762-1175. DPW is located at 359 Boyden Avenue. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Photo by Howard Gilman
