Costantino Nivola in Manhattan (walking tour)
May 15 1:30pm ET
departing from 19th Precinct Combined Police & Fire Facilities, 153 East 67th Street [1991 – Carl Stein, Architect
The tour will begin at 19th Precinct Combined Police & Fire Facilities, 153 East 67th Street
Costantino Nivola was a unique figure who bridged art and architecture by creating site-specific artwork for buildings, most publicly accessible and many in collaboration with prominent architects. He occupies a largely unexamined but important place in the post-war modern movement, and his artwork communicates to a broad audience using a symbolic language he created with materials and methods often shared by the buildings he embellished.
For his pieces that adorned architecture, Nivola worked mostly in concrete and explored a wide range of techniques including cast and sculpted concrete, frescoes, bas-reliefs, and scraffito. He placed free-standing sculptures in and around buildings, affixed cast panels to facades, and inscribed wet concrete with designs on-site.
New York City is home to the largest gathering of Nivola’s public artworks – 21 pieces across all five boroughs, at least 17 of which still exist. The tour will include visits to five sites in Manhattan :
1. 19th Precinct Combined Police & Fire Facilities, 153 East 67th Street [1991 – Carl Stein, Architect
2. Central Park East High School, 1573 Madison Avenue [1958 – Frederick G. Frost Jr., Architect]
3. 1025 5th Avenue [1955 – Raymond Loewy, Architect]
4. Louis Brandeis High School, 145 West 84th Street [1962]
5. Stephen Wise Recreation Area, 117 West 90th Street [1963 – Richard Stein, Architect]
Roger Broome, a licensed, LEED-accredited architect, will lead the tour. He practices in the greater New York City area, holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The Cooper Union (1990), and has been working in the field for over 30 years. He has worked in a broad variety of specialties such as exterior renovation, acoustical, exhibition, and retail design.
Please note: we will be traveling by subway/bus between some Manhattan locations.