designwire daily | The High Line Section 2, In Living Color

The High Line Section 2, In Living Color

by Annie Block | Wednesday, June 8, 2011 | 1 Comment

Photo Annie Block

As if the beauty of Section 1 of the High Line park isn’t draw enough, FriendsWithYou’s (FWY) vibrant “Rainbow City” celebrates the June 8 opening of Section 2. Designed by James Corner Field Operations with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Piet Oudolf, and Observatoire International, the new section runs between West 20th and West 30th Streets, and the 40-piece interactive installation occupies a 16,000-square-foot lot under the 30th Street High Line entrance—you can’t miss it. Rainbow City’s inflatable sculptures tower between 10 to 40 feet and are meant to “spread magic, luck, and friendship and address the potency of interaction, ritual, and play.” Inspired by the Hindu Holi festival, in which brightly colored water and powders are thrown, and fabricated from intensely hued and receptive materials, the installation encourages visitors to explore and engage.

Photo Bill Farrell Agency

FriendsWithYou, a Miami-based art and design collective founded in 2002 by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, has made a name for itself with installations during Art Basel Miami, its collectible toy lines, and its advertising work for such brands as Nike, MTV, and Red Bull. Rainbow City, which is up until July 5, is accompanied by a pop-up shop selling FWY’s toys, serves as a site for AOL-organized children’s educational programs, and runs concurrently with FWY’s first New York gallery exhibition at the Hole.

Photo Annie Block

As for the new High Line section, it’s just as outstanding as the first stretch, with two areas of reclaimed-teak “seating steps,” occasional offshoots from the main pathway offering more solitary seating, a 4,900-square-foot swath of rolling lawn, and a pair of Sarah Sze’s “Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat)” installations, gridlike steel and wood complexes containing bird, ladybug, and butterfly houses fitted with feeding trays stocked with seeds and nectar and rainwater-catching miniature troughs.