STARGAZING ON THE HIGH LINE

Jupiter If you have ever wondered what the love-child of John Coltrane and Albert Einstein would look like, "Jupiter", the High Line's newest art installation, provides one answer. Demetrius Oliver, a young artist, draws on Einstein's impact on the late jazz great to create a work of cosmic proportions. Placed on a 25 x 75 foot billboard on 18th street, "Jupiter" seems to extend the space of the High Line, drawing the public further into the environment beyond it.

The work is composed of five circular photographs on a black background, like five planets aligned in the night sky. Upon closer inspection, one finds that each globe is a view into a hotel room, devoid of guests but not their belongings, which include a telescope, a camera, a violin case. The work seems to play on the countless opportunities for voyeurism in this city of windows into the lives of strangers.

Oliver says he has long been inspired by Coltrane, particularly the musician's approach to composition and performance. Coltrane himself likened his process to Einstein's way of reducing the infinite complexity of the universe into a simple equation or idea.

When "Jupiter" was unveiled on September 7th, several jazz musicians situated throughout the High Line played Coltrane's "Jupiter Variation" (1967). They will do so again on the 21st and on October 2nd, when the work will close. On September 21st, the autumnal equinox, the New York chapter of the Amateur Astronomers Association will also be on hand to welcome planet Jupiter itself, as it will be clearly visible.

The debut of "Jupiter" also marks the start of the autumn art season on the High Line. Lauren Ross, the High Line's curator and art director, explains she is seeking "to bring artwork to the park as unique as the park itself."

~YAEL FRIEDMAN

Picture Credit: Demetrius Oliver, "Jupiter", 2010; installation view (Friends of the High Line)