“Curtain,” a project by Jerome Haferd and K. Brandt Knapp

The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park are pleased to present “Curtain,” a new project by Jerome Haferd and K. Brandt Knapp. “Curtain” is the winning entry in Folly, a competition co-sponsored by the League and Socrates that invited emerging architects and designers to propose contemporary interpretations of the architectural folly, traditionally a fanciful, small-scale building or pavilion sited in a garden or landscape to frame a view or serve as conversation piece. “Folly” was established by Socrates, in partnership with the League, to explore the intersections between architecture and sculpture and the increasing overlaps in references, materials, and building techniques between the two disciplines.

“Curtain” is a structure composed of a series of frames of slender wood posts, defining a space of 20 feet wide on each side with a triangulated roof canopy varying in height from 8-12 feet. The vertical and horizontal planes of the structure will be articulated with a dense series of suspended white plastic chain. Fixed in some places, hanging free in others, the white chain will create “rooms” that viewers can occupy, offering changing spatial experiences within the outline defined by the wooden framework. The title of the piece alludes to the material quality of the chain as it reacts to breezes off the East River as well as a play on the modernist understanding of “curtain walls” as fixed boundaries.

“Curtain” was selected by a jury that included: Alyson Baker, former Executive Director of Socrates Sculpture Park (2000–11) and current Executive Director of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum; Yolande Daniels, Studio SUMO; Richard Gluckman, Gluckman Mayner Architects; Christopher Leong, Leong Leong Architecture; and Leo Villareal, artist. The program is directed by Elissa Goldstone, Exhibition Program Manager, Socrates Sculpture Park; and Gregory Wessner, Special Projects Director, The Architectural League of New York.

About the Designers
Brandt Knapp, a Baltimore native, currently works at Richard Meier and Partners in New York. She studied photography as well as architecture and has maintained a strong interest in the arts and teaching. Jerome Haferd is originally from Akron, Ohio. His academic and professional pursuits initially led him to several locales, including the Beijing offices of OMA and Zephyr Architects. He now works under Bernard Tschumi at Bernard Tschumi Architects, New York.

About Socrates Sculpture Park
Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of sculptor Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents. Today it is an internationally renowned outdoor museum and artist residency program that also serves as a vital New York City park offering a wide variety of free public programs. Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale sculpture and multi-media installations in a unique outdoor environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks and the public. The Park’s existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity and improvement of our urban environment.
www.socratessculpturepark.org

Support
Folly, a partnership of Socrates Sculpture Park and The Architectural League, is made possible through a generous grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Socrates Sculpture Park’s Exhibition Program is also supported by the generosity of Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mark di Suvero, Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, and Spacetime C.C. This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and by public funds from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Special thanks to the City of New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, City Councilmembers Jimmy. Van Bramer and Peter F. Vallone Jr., and the Department of Parks & Recreation, Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

Architectural League programs are additionally supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.