Folly

“Curtain,” a project by Jerome Haferd and K. Brandt Knapp
July 14 – October 21, 2012
Opening reception, July 14, 2-6 pm

On view at
Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Boulevard at Broadway
Long Island City
The park is open 365 days a year from 10 a.m. until sunset.  Admission is free.
For more information about visiting the park, click here.
For more information about the opening, click here.

The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park are pleased to present “Curtain,” a new project by Jerome Haferd and K. Brandt Knapp. “Curtain” is the winning entry in Folly, a competition co-sponsored by the League and Socrates that invited emerging architects and designers to propose contemporary interpretations of the architectural folly, traditionally a fanciful, small-scale building or pavilion sited in a garden or landscape to frame a view or serve as conversation piece. “Folly” was established by Socrates, in partnership with the League, to explore the intersections between architecture and sculpture and the increasing overlaps in references, materials, and building techniques between the two disciplines.

“Curtain” is a structure composed of a series of frames of slender wood posts, defining a space of 20 feet wide on each side with a triangulated roof canopy varying in height from 8-12 feet. The vertical and horizontal planes of the structure will be articulated with a dense series of suspended white plastic chain. Fixed in some places, hanging free in others, the white chain will create “rooms” that viewers can occupy, offering changing spatial experiences within the outline defined by the wooden framework. The title of the piece alludes to the material quality of the chain as it reacts to breezes off the East River as well as a word play on the architectural “curtain wall.”

Click here for an interview with Jerome W Haferd and K Brandt Knapp.

“Curtain” was selected by a jury that included: Alyson Baker, former Executive Director of Socrates Sculpture Park (2000–11) and current Executive Director of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum; Yolande Daniels, Studio SUMO; Richard Gluckman, Gluckman Mayner Architects; Christopher Leong, Leong Leong Architecture; and Leo Villareal, artist. The program is directed by Elissa Goldstone, Exhibition Program Manager, Socrates Sculpture Park; and Gregory Wessner, Special Projects Director, The Architectural League of New York.

For more information about the competition, click here.