© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Art Installation Imagines Iconic New York Buildings as Rockets

A new installation at Hartford's Real Art Ways imagines New York City lifting off to Mars, building by building. 

Visual artist Joshua Frankel's film "Plan of the City" starts out with a lone flutist playing amid an animated backdrop of policemen and thousands waiting in line. 

PLAN OF THE CITY (3 min excerpt) from Joshua Frankel on Vimeo.

As the film unfolds, members of the chamber group NOW Ensemble join in, making their way through an animated New York City backdrop comprised of collages of iconic New York images. The ensemble eventually enters an empty water tower and lifts off, leaving Earth, along with the rest of New York City, building by building.

Their final destination: Mars.

Joshua Frankel said the idea started as a mural where elevated subways take off into the sky. "That's the place where lifting off in the air started, and I think from there I started think about water towers, which seemed to be pointing to the sky," Frankel said. "So I see those, and I think about Rockefeller Center, and the art-deco architecture, with uninterrupted verticals pointing up, and I started to develop this conspiracy theory in my mind of rockets hidden inside the architecture."

"Plan of the City" opens Thursday night at Real Art Ways in Hartford, and runs through the end of March.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content