One Animus Arts Collective artist constructs a Flaming Cactus Saturday nightThe “WALK MAN” that was erected in Tompkins Square Park over the weekend has already been vandalized (DNA Info has the story), but another art installation is still standing. Over the weekend, a group of roughly ten artists calling themselves the Animus Arts Collective transformed fourteen East Village lampposts into “Flaming Cactus” displays.
You may have seen some of the lampposts at Astor Place; four similar lampposts, festooned with fluorescent cables to resemble cacti, are located on Governor’s Island.
Officials with the New York City Department of Transportation commissioned the project in order to mark the route of the D.O.T.’s fourth annual Summer Streets program.
Flaming CactusThe annual event, which begins this Saturday, encourages New Yorkers to ride, walk, skate, run and bike along a blocked-off portion of Park Avenue. This Saturday and the subsequent two Saturdays from 7 a.m. till 1 p.m., Park Avenue and adjacent streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park will be closed to traffic.
“This project has been very rewarding,” said Preston Dane, one of the collective’s artists. “A lot of work we’ve been doing has been for arts and music festivals and we want to make a push for doing more public art work. Personally, I’d love to see this project expand all over the city.”
