Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg presented the Doris C. Freedman
Award today to the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority for its
public art program at a ceremony in Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park. The
Mayor was joined by the daughters of Doris C. Freedman, President
of the Public Art Fund Susan K. Freedman, Karen Freedman and Nina
Freedman. Also present were Deputy Mayor for Administration Patricia
E. Harris, Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority James F. Gill,
President of Battery Park City Authority Tim S. Carey, Department
of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate Levin and Department of City
Planning Chair Amanda M. Burden.
"On behalf
of New York City, I am honored to present the Doris C. Freedman Award
to the Battery Park City Authority for its invaluable contributions
to our City's open spaces," said Mayor Bloomberg. "We are
committed to promoting innovative design and the participation of
artists in public spaces, and this award is a testament to these efforts."
"My thanks
to Mayor Bloomberg for this wonderful honor," said James Gill.
"Battery Park City - home to 13 works of public art and soon
to be 14 - is delighted to receive this distinguished award. Battery
Park City is especially pleased that Mayor Bloomberg is actively reaching
out to strengthen and encourage the arts, which are such an important
part of Battery Park City's cultural and aesthetic environment."
The Doris C. Freedman
Award was established in 1982 by Executive Order by Mayor Edward I.
Koch to acknowledge an individual or organization for "a contribution
to the people of the City of New York that greatly enriches the public
environment." The award has not been presented since 1992. It
is dedicated to the memory and vision of Doris Chanin Freedman (1928-1981),
the founder of Public Art Fund. Ms. Freedman was an active member
of numerous community and educational organizations, and served as
New York City's first Director of Cultural Affairs, as well as the
President of the Municipal Art Society. She worked to establish New
York City's Percent for Art legislation, devoting her energies to
enrich the public environment.
Since 1979, the
Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has generously allocated
open public space and has integrated artists and artwork into the
design process. Rather than siting artworks as decorative afterthoughts,
BPCA sought to incorporate artists as principal designers of public
spaces. The Authority has been committed to commissioning new artworks
for each new public space, beginning in the early 1980s with the design
and creation of the World Financial Plaza at the North Cove. This
work was created by artists, Siah Armajani and Scott Burton, in collaboration
with architect Cesar Pelli and landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg.
Many of the artworks
occupy the pivotal spots where the park, street and river converge.
With each new development, artists have created works that provoke
curiosity, draw new meanings from their site, and enhance the viewer's
experience of the landscape. In the early 1990s, artists focused on
the northern end of Battery Park with installations in Stuyvesant
High School and one of New York City's most beloved public artworks,
Tom Otterness' playground, The Real World, in Governor Nelson
Rockefeller Park. In 1996, Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park opened with
the works of Louise Bourgeois, Tony Cragg and Jim Dine.
Previous recipients
of the Doris C. Freedman Award were the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Friends
of the Upper East Side Historic Districts and its founder Halina Rosenthal,
Dancing in the Streets, The Studio in a School, the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey, Richard J. Haas, Mark Di Suvero, Margot
Gayle, William H. Whyte, and Ronay Menschel. To mark the award, artist
Tony Rosenthal contributed a maquette of his sculpture The Alamo,
which is sited at Astor Place at 8th and Lafayette Streets.
