Lighting Sculpture Installation by Grimanesa Amorós
in the Times Square Alliance’s Public Art Program/Armory Show
Uros House, a site-specific, lighting sculpture installation by artist Grimanesa Amorós, was part of the Times Square Alliance’s Public Art Program/Armory Show exhibition. The sculpture was on view at Duffy Square and the Broadway Plaza between 46th and 47th Streets. Work by Tom Otterness, David Kennedy Cutler, and Niki de Saint Phalle was also included in the exhibition. Amorós’ sculpture was presented by the Times Square Alliance and sponsored by Nina Menocal Gallery, Art Insurance Now, and Reaction Lighting Inc.
Uros House, made of polyethylene, steel, metal and computer controlled LEDS, was inspired by structures built by the Uros Indians in Peru. The pre-Incan Uros, who lived on forty-two self-fashioned floating islands in Lake Titicaca, build everything out of totora reeds, a sub species of the giant bulrush sedge. According to Amoros, who was born and raised in Peru, the Uros House sculpture “embody the beauty of sea foam, while maintaining the traditional technique and shape of the Uros islands houses. The structure seemingly arises from the ground as if it were one with the earth.”
Grimanesa Amorós is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory, which have greatly influenced her work. She often makes use of sculpture, video, and lighting to create works that illuminate our notions of personal identity and community. Amorós utilizes her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities. She was born in Lima, lives and works in New York City.
