HEARD-NY
PROJECT OVERVIEW
In March 2013, artist Nick Cave transformed Grand Central Terminal with 30 lifesize, multcolored horses, “grazing” and periodically breaking into choreographed movement accompanied by live harp music. In celebration of Grand Central centennial, HEARD•NY celebrates this site of perpetual motion with an unexpected and joyful intervention into the station’s daily activity. As Cave’s first public art project in NYC, it introduced audiences to his wearable sculptures “Soundsuits,” and turned the station into a place of surprise and awe. Sixty dancers from The Ailey School performed in Soundsuits at choreographed “crossings,” which attracted approx. 15,000 visitors throughout the one week event. The Soundsuits were also on view to showcase the meticulously crafted works, part of a costume tradition from African tribal ritual, Renaissance pageantry, to Mardi Gras. The performance/installation created an ephemeral experience that honored the public space, with its beautiful evocation of movement-fitting in a monument of travel.