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Irish Hunger Memorial - Jean Parker Phifer
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Jean Parker Phifer, NYC architect and author of Public Art New York, reads a selection on The Irish Hunger Memorial, located at the North End Avenue at Vesey Street.
Jean Parker Phifer Jean Parker Phifer is an architect specializing in planning, restoration, and sustainable design projects for cultural institutions. An adjunct associate professor of environmental design at New York University, she is also a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accredited professional.
She served as architect member and president of the Art Commission of the City of New York, now the Public Design Commission, from 1998 to 2003. She has recently published a book, Public Art New York (W.W. Norton, 2009).
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Irish Hunger Memorial - David Piscuskas
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David Piscuskas discusses the conception of the memorial, the significance of its site, and the way in which it commemorates the Great Irish Famine and continuing problem of global hunger worldwide.
David Piscuskas David Piscuskas, FAIA, LEED AP, co-founded 1100 Architect, of which he is a principal, in 1983. He believes well-designed, functional, and astute architecture can act as a powerful catalyst of change, inspiration, and growth. Following those beliefs, he has completed several award-winning buildings, including Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School (New York), the Irish Hunger Memorial (New York), and The New York Public Library’s Battery Park City Branch.
David is currently serving as the Vice President for Professional Development for the AIA New York Chapter. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in art from Brown University in 1979 and a Master of Architecture degree from UCLA in 1982. Piscuskas is an NCARB Certificate Holder, Member of the Chamber of Architects in the state of Hessen, and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA).
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Irish Hunger Memorial - Part 1 The Commission - Brian Tolle
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Artist Brian Tolle describes the process of how he got the commission for the artwork and selected his team and began to conceptualize the design.
Brian Tolle Brian Tolle’s sculptures and installations emphasize a dialog with history and context, often incorporating the themes of architecture, site, and technology. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of its surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction. Drawing ideas from a broad-based conceptual analysis, Tolle blurs the border between the contemporary and the historical. His approach involves in-depth research which is then distilled and directed, creating an intuitive personal response.
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Irish Hunger Memorial - Part 2 - The Design Process - Brian Tolle
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Artist Brian Tolle explains the design process behind the memorial beginning with a competition between the finalist artists. He felt that a figurative piece was not appropriate. Instead, he decided to create a sculpture where the emphasis is on the land itself in its natural state.
He wanted to add an authentic historic structure so he began a search for a suitable farmhouse with a historian. He talks about how he was finally able to find a house built in 1820 which the family lived in through the 1960’s in Attymass Parish (where the first official death from the Famine occurred). The house was given as a gift from the family that stayed in Ireland to the family that emigrated from Ireland.
Brian Tolle Brian Tolle’s sculptures and installations emphasize a dialog with history and context, often incorporating the themes of architecture, site, and technology. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of its surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction. Drawing ideas from a broad-based conceptual analysis, Tolle blurs the border between the contemporary and the historical. His approach involves in-depth research which is then distilled and directed, creating an intuitive personal response.
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Irish Hunger Memorial - Part 3 - The Design Process - Brian Tolle
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Artist Brian Tolle talks about adding inscriptions to the Memorial which was a requirement of the competition and how he elected to create strata infilled with pieces of glass where the text could be placed behind it or changed some time in the future. He also discussed the court cairns or tomb passages at the great court cairns as the inspiration for the passage he created beneath the hill.
Brian Tolle Brian Tolle’s sculptures and installations emphasize a dialog with history and context, often incorporating the themes of architecture, site, and technology. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of its surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction. Drawing ideas from a broad-based conceptual analysis, Tolle blurs the border between the contemporary and the historical. His approach involves in-depth research which is then distilled and directed, creating an intuitive personal response.
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Irish Hunger Memorial - Part 4 - The Construction - Brian Tolle
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Artist Brian Tolle describes the construction of the Memorial, beginning with how he decided to 'live' on the Jobsite. Because it was adjacent to the World Trade Center, he goes on to talk about what happened on September 11th and how it impacted the Memorial.
Brian Tolle Brian Tolle’s sculptures and installations emphasize a dialog with history and context, often incorporating the themes of architecture, site, and technology. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of its surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction. Drawing ideas from a broad-based conceptual analysis, Tolle blurs the border between the contemporary and the historical. His approach involves in-depth research which is then distilled and directed, creating an intuitive personal response.
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Irish Hunger Memorial - Part 5 - Audio in the Passage - Brian Tolle
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In a piece dedicated to hunger awareness, Artist Brian Tolle talks about his ongoing collaboration with sound artists, hunger organizations, historians and even poets to create changing audio content for the Passage.
Brian Tolle Brian Tolle’s sculptures and installations emphasize a dialog with history and context, often incorporating the themes of architecture, site, and technology. Using a variety of media, his work draws from the scale and experience of its surroundings, provoking a re-reading by cross-wiring reality and fiction. Drawing ideas from a broad-based conceptual analysis, Tolle blurs the border between the contemporary and the historical. His approach involves in-depth research which is then distilled and directed, creating an intuitive personal response.
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The Irish Hunger Memorial - Dorothea Basile
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Described as a 'little fragment of Ireland' sitting on top of a thin layer of concrete, Dorthea Basile describes the memorial, its features and the famine it commemorates.
Dorothea Basile
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The Commission for the Irish Hunger Memorial - Dorothea Basile
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Artist Brian Tolle won the competition to design the Hunger Memorial which was supposed to commemorate both the Irish Famine itself and address the larger issue of world hunger. Dorthea Basile tells the story behind the competition.
Dorothea Basile
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