REMOTE NATION - public art installation by Kevin Cooley

The High Line Park may be one of the best public spaces ever constructed. The park is almost perfect, completely satisfying our urges to trespass without harm, to take respite in greenery, bask in the serenity of an oasis while being only steps away from any kind of urban pleasure. Looking out from the park the gluttonous eye is filled with the Manhattan cityscape, made that much more appreciable via the slight elevation. And, now, to add to the visual feast, is Kevin Cooley's Remote Nation.

This is a major public art installation by Kevin. He has installed it previously but not on this scale. This time around, he was specifically inspired by the location on the High Line. Remote Nation consists of a building overflowing with analog televisions, all broadcasting what Cooley's father is viewing on television in Colorado. Mr. Cooley watches a lot of tv, apparently he always has. Now, passerby on the High Line in New York City can almost watch with him.

I'm biased, but Remote Nation is truly lovely. The blue-tinged light emanating from the building's huge windows glow and flicker, . The public art piece is subtle, and inspires a sense of awe, similar to that of viewing the northern lights. Cooley has created an electromagnetic field silent, and sublime. Looking from the outside in, the viewer becomes voyeur, witness to this evidence of human presence dancing in collective solitude. Passerby pause, pondering the meaning, wondering if they really are seeing everyone in a large condo building watching the exact same thing.

It is no secret that screens entrance us. They transmit communal virtual experiences and cultures that can connect us across global distance, and while simultaneously alienating two individuals who are sitting right next to each other, sucked into an LCD haze.

Check out Remote Nation, on the High Line at West 23rd St - West 25th St until Sept 24, or at its website: remotenation.tv


© 2011 Kevin Cooley