The massive sculpture was designed by artist David Barthold and manufactured by a team of five young people.
Hurly-Whirly, a new public art installation, stands at 4th Avenue and 2nd Street.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
by Gabriele Holtermann, Brooklyn Paper
A kinetic burst of color now spins in place on the median of 4th Avenue and 2nd Street, where a new public art installation is reshaping a familiar stretch of road bordering Park Slope and Gowanus.
The massive, 11-foot-by-8-foot colorful kinetic sculpture titled “Hurly-Whirly” was designed by artist David Barthold and manufactured by a team of five young people who are part of the Beam Center’s paid Art Production Apprenticeship program.
The three-dimensional piece, which will be on view through fall 2026, is constructed of marine-grade plywood fins attached to a steel structure secured into the ground by threaded anchors. Depending on wind conditions, the painted plywood wings on top of the sculpture spin thanks to a rotating steel post. Rust-resistant exterior-grade enamel paint protects the sculpture from the elements.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Barthold drew inspiration from whimsical roadside art along America’s highways, when traffic and life moved more slowly and caught the curiosity of passing drivers. He said he hopes “Hurly-Whirly” invokes the same sense of wonder he felt during long family road trips through the South and Midwest in the 1960s and 1970s.
The multimedia artist told Brooklyn Paper he wanted to create a sculpture that would make people smile as they drove past the gray stretch of road along 4th Avenue.
“I’m a native New Yorker, so I always feel like there’s this undercurrent of crankiness in the city, and I’m thinking like I was worried about whether it would attract positive attention or negative attention, and it’s been overwhelmingly positive. I think people really want to see, and they do see, wonderful public art around the city, especially in recent years,” Barthold said, noting that it was “wonderful” to be a participant in the life of the city. “It’s about, really, just spreading joy. I want people to feel like they’re living in a wonderful, beautiful city that’s full of surprises and unexpected pleasure.”
The project is a collaborative effort between Why Not Art, which champions public and immersive art in Gowanus and beyond; Forth on Fourth Ave (FOFA); Arts Gowanus; and the Beam Center. It also includes support from local partners such as the Old Stone House, the Gowanus BID Formation Committee, the Gowanus Neighborhood Arts Advisory Committee (GNAAC), and the New York City Department of Transportation Art Program, which had to approve the installation.
Artist David Barthold (far right) designed the sculpture. Photo via Why Not Art
Grace Freedman, managing director of Why Not Art and co-chair of FOFA, told Brooklyn Paper that FOFA had been advocating for a cleaner, greener and more creative 4th Avenue for more than 10 years.
“We wanted to bring public art to 4th Avenue, so we worked with Arts Gowanus and also the Beam Center to identify an artist who could make a sculpture that would work in the area and could also be constructed and fabricated by teen apprentices from the Beam Center,” Freedman explained, and said she hopes the installation is the first of many projects along 4th Avenue.
Community response has been overwhelmingly positive, Freedman said, even inspiring creativity in kids.
“One person emailed me saying that they pass by it every day with their child on the way to school. And the child had made up all kinds of stories about it and what it was for,” Freedman said, noting that the organization and its collaborators hope the sculpture inspires people to envision 4th Avenue as an exciting destination and creative neighborhood, not just a high-volume traffic thoroughfare.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“The sculpture is delightful for cars, but also for walkers, bikers along the 4th Avenue bike lane, and passersby, and we’re hoping it draws excitement and attention to 4th Avenue,” Freedman said.
She said she hopes “Hurly-Whirly” is the first of many art projects along 4th Avenue, but noted that it depends on resources and support from the New York City Department of Transportation, which must approve art installations on the median.
“If we can only do one installation at a time, we probably will move it to different locations along 4th Avenue,” Freedman said. “If we can do multiples, we’ll plan for that, like maybe we can do something where things are sort of staggered, so that there’s always something. But we’re kind of at the beginning of making that long-term plan.”
The Beam Center, a youth development and education organization, provides creative opportunities for thousands of young people ages 8 to 18 in collaboration with teachers and artists across New York City every year. The collaboration on the public art project not only enriches the neighborhood but also promotes skills training and employment for young people in the community, including 17-year-old Justin and 18-year-old Tahied, two of the five Beam apprentices who worked on the project.
“[This] has been a great experience, [and it] has helped me learn more about precision and patience. I feel proud because we’ve come so far; it’s turned into a beautiful piece with color and pizzazz. I feel very accomplished,” Justin said in a statement, with Tahied adding, “This has been a new experience. I like working with schematics and seeing all the pieces come together like a puzzle. Having the artist involved was also great; I liked having him teach us painting.”
Participants of the Beam Center’s Art Production Apprenticeship program work on the kinetic sculpture. Photo via Why Not Art
Brian Cohen, executive director of the center, told Brooklyn Paper that “Hurly-Whirly” was Justin’s and Tahied’s capstone project in the public art production apprenticeship at Beam, which started as a sleepaway camp in New Hampshire 22 years ago and expanded to New York City in 2012.
“There’s an incredible amount of pride that the skills that they are learning at Beam have direct application to making Brooklyn more beautiful,” Cohen said. “We love having beautiful things that are hard to do and improve everyone’s life, as proof that teenagers are capable of incredible things. And we’re excited at the prospect of being able to work with this coalition again, and hopefully for many years to make that part of Brooklyn as beautiful as it can be.”
Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.
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