Historic Green-Wood Cemetery: Public Art Project “Here Lie the Secrets of Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery”

Historic Green-Wood Cemetery: Public Art Project “Here Lie the Secrets of Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery”

Historic Green-Wood Cemetery: Public Art Project "Here Lie the Secrets of Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery"
Green-Wood cemetery image source green-wood.com

A fascinating public art project will take place at the historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. The cemetery, founded in 1838, is a designated Historic Landmark. It is well-known for its peaceful beauty and for being a resting place for many prominent public figures.

The Creative Time is organizing this public art project with French conceptualist Sophie Calle. The artist is well known for her installations and books exploring the questions of intimacy, identity and relationships often using her own experience as a subject of her work. She had represented her country at 2007 Venice Biennale.

The project at the Green-Wood Cemetery will kick-off on April 29 with a two-day event with the artists on hand and will continue through 2042. A marble obelisk designed by the artists will be installed amid the graves. The obelisk will have a mailbox-like opening for visitors to slide in their secret messages and to unburden themselves from the secrets. The messages will be buried in the grave beneath the obelisk. The project will be ongoing during cemetery visiting hours through 2042.

The Artnet preview of the project quotes Creative Time artistic director Nato Thompson noting that this “personal, and yet also public act” is particularly urgent at the time of social upheaval like ours.

For the visiting hours click here.

Venue: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY                 Dates: April, 2017 – April, 2042