“Tight Spot” by David Byrne will be on view on West 25 Street, underneath the High Line, from Sept. 16 to Oct. 1, 2011.
NEW YORK—On Friday, The Pace Gallery unveiled an interpretive work in the outdoor space next to its gallery. “Tight Spot” by David Byrne is an enormous inflated globe that is constrained by the support posts holding up the High Line, the elevated park above it.
The installation is lit by spotlights and includes audio with a vibrating, sonic sound that Byrne, a co-founder of the rock group Talking Heads, created using his voice.
In my view, “Tight Spot” represents a global sense of stress and strain felt around the world, both politically and economically.
From The Pace Gallery press release: “The globe, based on the type used in primary schools, is enlarged and wedged within the confines of the space, becoming deliberately distorted in the process. Byrne imagined the pastel map we associate with childhood: ‘a wholly unrealistic world, a world of somewhat arbitrary political units, not a planet of clouds, deep blue oceans, beige deserts and swaths of green jungle.’ However, like the world around us, Byrne’s globe is subject to both the elements and human presence…
“A low-frequency vibration will emanate from speakers placed deep within the globe. The sound is meant to be heard from the surrounding streets and elevated park, enticing passersby to discover the installation.”
Photos by Arts Observer
