Charles Mary Kubricht Dazzles High Line With 'Alive-nesses'
Don't ever let anyone tell you that artistic inspiration and military methods are mutually exclusive, at least not within view of Alive-nesses: Proposal for Adaptation, a work by Texan artist Charles Mary Kubricht that will be the next installment in the High Line Art series sponsored by the Friends of the High Line. In order to create this large-scale, outdoor work, Kubricht's process was informed by a camouflage technique known as "dazzle," which was originally conceived by the U.S. military as a way of disguising ships, and confusing surveillance about the ships' size and proximity via visual trickery.
There's still one remaining section of the High Line that is currently closed off to visitors, the Rail Yards, which run from 30th through 34th Streets, and that's the spot that Kubricht has chosen to house her (yes, her — don't the first name fool you) creation. It's there that she has painted huge park storage containers in accordance with the aforementioned "dazzle" techniques, resulting in a striking piece of art that will be visible from the north end of the park — close to 30th St. — as of September 24.Visitors who view Alive-nesses may not be able to trust their eyes to tell them the exact nature of what they're looking at, and that's exactly Kubricht's plan. Because, after all, if a bit of carefully crafted derangement of the senses doesn't make for interesting art, what does?
