Central Park

The Daily Plant : Friday, December 8, 2000

THE ART OF THE PARK:
PHOTO EXHIBIT OPENS AT THE CENTRAL PARK DAIRY

Photo by Amanda (Greenpoint) Tedeschi of a photo by Dr. Marty Birnbaum

When Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux conceived of Central Park, it was as a work of art as well as a public space. Their chosen media were shrubs, stone, pines, dirt and water. What might today be termed an interactive site-specific art installation was a milestone in the history of landscape architecture. Within Central Park, Olmsted and Vaux composed individual pictures for viewers to discover on a walk through the park. On Wednesday, December 6, 2000, Parks and the Central Park Conservancy honored the work of a photographer who has helped uncover these pictures and frame new ones never conceived of by Olmsted or Vaux.

Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern; Central Park Administrator Doug (Brigadier) Blonsky; Vice President for Government and Community Relations at the Conservancy, Erena (Rain Forest) Stennet; Director of Major Gifts to the Conservancy, Andrea (Ladybug) Hill; Central Park Photographer and Historian Sara (Cedar Hill) Cedar Miller; Director of Family and Community Programs at the Conservancy, Barbara Nowack; Manager of the Dairy, Pierre Boule; Dairy staff; and other Parkies congregated for the opening of Tranquility in Central Park, which showcases photographs by an artist and social work professor, Dr. Marty Birnbaum.

Dr. Birnbaum is a New Yorker and a nature lover. For someone who doesn't know Parks, that might seem like an unresolved contradiction. In fact, Dr. Birnbaum's love of nature, evident in the 20 images shot between 1998 and the present, led him to Central Park as an artist and a benefactor. His contribution to the Central Park Conservancy, made in honor of his marriage, which took place nearby, enabled the restoration of valuable landscape southwest of the tennis courts. An eye for the art of the park inspired the twenty photos that debuted Wednesday evening at the Central Park Dairy.

The nature of the materials that Olmsted and Vaux employed-all living things-created continuous change in Central Park and a source of ever new inspiration for future artists. Marty Birnbaum is the first among what is expected to be a long line of artists visited by the Muse of Central Park who exhibit their works at the Dairy, Central Park's Visitor's Center. The gallery will offer first time visitors an overview of the park, and an insight into how artists past and present have perceived it.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Friday, December 11,1987)

PLANT'S NEW QUESTION AND ANSWER COLUMN OFFERS "BENEFICIAL" ADVICE FOR ALL

The Plant proudly announces the launching of a new Parks employee service column addressing questions that crop up frequently. Today's article addresses the basics about health and pension benefits and how they effect your paycheck next week and many years from now. Future articles will tackle everything from Deferred Compensation to the challenging task of interpreting paycheck deductions.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The only difference between a caprice and a
lifelong passion is that the caprice last a little longer."

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center