Thomas Houseago will discuss new Rock Center work, “Masks (Pentagon),” at New School talk April 29 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Who: Thomas Houseago
What: Public Art Fund Talks
Where: The New School, 12th Street Auditorium, Alvin Johnson / J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
When: Wednesday, April 29, $10, 6:30
Why: British-born, L.A.-based artist Thomas Houseago will discuss public works and his latest project, “Masks (Pentagon),” which is on view through June 12 in Rockefeller Plaza. The site-responsive installation consists of five large-scale white masks, cast from clay in industrial-strength synthetic plaster, arranged in a pentagram so visitors can enter and look out at the surrounding Rockefeller Center area, as well as witness the revealing insides of the masks. “In this piece I wanted to bring the activity and the feel of the studio into public space as an experience,” Houseago explains in a statement. “The public gets to ‘see’ the work both from the outside as an image but then also from the inside as an insight into its construction. It becomes a kind of retreat from the city but also a porous viewing space. The public becomes part of the experience of looking and also an integral part of the work.”