Artwork Details
- Title
- Maquette for “Queens: Festival” (for Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building, Jamaica, New York)
- Artist
- Date
- 1986
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 10 1⁄8 x 14in. (25.7 x 35.5cm)
- Copyright
- © 1984, Howardena Doreen Pindell
- Credit Line
- Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
- Mediums Description
- acrylic gel, paint, paper, and colored reproductions on paper mounted on canvas
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Figure group
- Cityscape
- Abstract
- Study — sculpture model
- Architecture Exterior — commercial
- Architecture Exterior — commercial — skyscraper
- Object Number
- 1994.84.3
Artwork Description
In 1989, Howardena Pindell was one of eight African American artists commissioned to create a work of art for the new Joseph P. Addabbo Social Security Center in Jamaica, New York. In the wake of the controversy surrounding Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc, the General Services Administration wanted the South Jamaica installation to represent the neighborhood. Since South Jamaica is predominantly African American, GSA dedicated the installation to “the creativity of black artists.” Pindell hoped to capture a sense of place in Queens: Festival and so took photographs throughout the borough. For the final work, she selected twenty-two images that she felt reflected the landscape and people and painted them in a variety of styles to underscore the artistic diversity of the community.