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The Broken Kilometer

The Broken Kilometer is a permanent art installation created by Walter De Maria inside a street-level storefront in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. The piece consists of 500 round solid brass rods, 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) long by 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter, laid on the floor in 5 rows of 100 rods each. The space between the rods increase by 5 millimeters. The first two rods of each row are placed 80 millimeters apart, the last two rods are placed 570 millimeters apart. The work is illuminated with metal-halide stadium lights. Commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation in 1979, it has been on view to the public ever since. The Broken Kilometer is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation as one of the twelve locations and sites they manage.

The Broken Kilometer
ArtistWalter De Maria
Year1979 (1979)
MediumBrass
MovementMinimalism, Conceptual Art, Land Art
LocationDia Art Foundation, New York City
Coordinates40°43′27″N 74°00′08″W / 40.724077°N 74.002112°W / 40.724077; -74.002112
Accession1980.348.1-.500
Websitewww.diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/walter-de-maria-the-broken-kilometer-new-york-united-states

De Maria's 1977 artwork The Vertical Earth Kilometer in Kassel, Germany, is a companion piece to The Broken Kilometer.

Design edit

The Broken Kilometer is composed of 500 identical round solid brass rods that are highly polished. Each rod is 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) long and 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter. These rods are laid on the ground in five parallel rows of 100 rods each. The first two rods of each row closest to the viewer are placed 80 millimetres (3.1 in) apart, and the space between each subsequent rod increased by 5 millimetres (0.20 in), with the last two rods being 570 millimetres (1.87 ft) apart. The sculpture weighs 18.75 short tons (17,010 kg), and if all of the rods were laid end to end it would stretch for 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).[1] The rods sit inside a 522.6-square-metre (5,625 sq ft) street-level storefront, and the sculpture is illuminated by metal-halide stadium lights to simulate sunlight.[2][1][3]

The rods that make up The Broken Kilometer slowly oxidize and are polished every two years.[4] After the rods are polished, their caretaker states in an Artsy interview, "it’s so full of light that it doesn’t even look like metal anymore. It’s almost like radiant heat. It’s so beautiful, just humming with brightness."[4]

The work has one caretaker, Patti Dilworth, who is married to Bill Dilworth, caretaker of The New York Earth Room. Dilworth's work according to Max Lakin "encompasses conservation, custodial duties, security, and, in a large way since De Maria’s death in 2013, curation".[2] Lakin also says that the sculpture "takes on a rhythmic order akin to musicality,"[2] and Dilworth notes "as you pace in front of them they appear to vibrate and dance, like a radiant bed of scrupulous moray eels."[2] In 2017, Daisy Alioto studied the online reviews of The Broken Kilometer and discovered patterns in how people respond to the work. Negative reviews centered on underwhelmed visitors who saw the piece as unrightfully taking up valuable real estate, seeing the piece as a "financial interloper, whose cultural merit wasn’t worth its proverbial weight in real estate gold."[5] Positive reviews noted that the piece, as well as The New York Earth Room, was a respite from the city and in contrast to the wildness found on the streets nearby.[5]

History edit

 
The storefront of the gallery space that houses The Broken Kilometer

The space that now houses The Broken Kilometer was previously the second site of Heiner Friedrich's gallery (the first location of this gallery is two blocks away and where another work by De Maria, The New York Earth Room is now on permanent display).[2][6] Friedrich was one of the founders of the Dia Art Foundation,[6] which commissioned The Broken Kilometer.[7] The sculpture has been on public display since it was installed in 1979 and is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation as one of eleven locations and sites they manage.[8][1]

In 1977, De Maria created The Vertical Earth Kilometer, which The Broken Kilometer is a companion piece to. It is in Kassel, Germany, and uses a brass rod with the same weight, length, and diameter as this work.[1]

There have been few changes to the work or the space it is in over the years. The most notable changes include the installation of a bench in the mid 2010s[2] and in 2018 the Dia Art Foundation undertook a $78 million campaign to add to their endowment and renovate all of the spaces it owns, with a new climate control system planned for The Broken Kilometer so it can remain open year-round.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Walter De Maria, The Broken Kilometer, 1979. Exhibition pamphlet. 2019. Dia Art Foundation.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lakin, Max. Catching Up With the Keepers of Soho’s Artistic Flame. The Village Voice. December 18, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  3. ^ 21 Can’t-Fail Date Ideas for Art Lovers in New York, From MoMA and a Martini to a Romantic Land-Art Pilgrimage Upstate. Artnet. February 6, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Ashman, Sam. Meet the Couple Who Are Gatekeepers to New York’s Hidden Minimalist Monuments. Artsy. March 31, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Alioto, Daisy. Yelp and TripAdvisor Critics Take on Walter De Maria. Hyperallergic. October 4, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Hoban, Phoebe. Medicis for a Moment:The Collapse of the Dia Dream. New York Magazine. November 25, 1985. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Walter De Maria, The Broken Kilometer. Dia Art Foundation. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Visit our Locations and Sites. Dia Art Foundation. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  9. ^ Zeiba, Drew. Architecture Research Office to oversee Dia renovations and expansion. The Architect's Newspaper. June 8, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2020.

External links edit

  • Dia artwork page

broken, kilometer, permanent, installation, created, walter, maria, inside, street, level, storefront, soho, neighborhood, york, city, piece, consists, round, solid, brass, rods, meters, long, inches, diameter, laid, floor, rows, rods, each, space, between, ro. The Broken Kilometer is a permanent art installation created by Walter De Maria inside a street level storefront in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City The piece consists of 500 round solid brass rods 2 meters 6 ft 7 in long by 2 inches 51 mm in diameter laid on the floor in 5 rows of 100 rods each The space between the rods increase by 5 millimeters The first two rods of each row are placed 80 millimeters apart the last two rods are placed 570 millimeters apart The work is illuminated with metal halide stadium lights Commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation in 1979 it has been on view to the public ever since The Broken Kilometer is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation as one of the twelve locations and sites they manage The Broken KilometerArtistWalter De MariaYear1979 1979 MediumBrassMovementMinimalism Conceptual Art Land ArtLocationDia Art Foundation New York CityCoordinates40 43 27 N 74 00 08 W 40 724077 N 74 002112 W 40 724077 74 002112Accession1980 348 1 500Websitewww wbr diaart wbr org wbr visit wbr visit our locations sites wbr walter de maria the broken kilometer new york united statesDe Maria s 1977 artwork The Vertical Earth Kilometer in Kassel Germany is a companion piece to The Broken Kilometer Contents 1 Design 2 History 3 References 4 External linksDesign editThe Broken Kilometer is composed of 500 identical round solid brass rods that are highly polished Each rod is 2 metres 6 ft 7 in long and 2 inches 51 mm in diameter These rods are laid on the ground in five parallel rows of 100 rods each The first two rods of each row closest to the viewer are placed 80 millimetres 3 1 in apart and the space between each subsequent rod increased by 5 millimetres 0 20 in with the last two rods being 570 millimetres 1 87 ft apart The sculpture weighs 18 75 short tons 17 010 kg and if all of the rods were laid end to end it would stretch for 1 kilometre 0 62 mi 1 The rods sit inside a 522 6 square metre 5 625 sq ft street level storefront and the sculpture is illuminated by metal halide stadium lights to simulate sunlight 2 1 3 The rods that make up The Broken Kilometer slowly oxidize and are polished every two years 4 After the rods are polished their caretaker states in an Artsy interview it s so full of light that it doesn t even look like metal anymore It s almost like radiant heat It s so beautiful just humming with brightness 4 The work has one caretaker Patti Dilworth who is married to Bill Dilworth caretaker of The New York Earth Room Dilworth s work according to Max Lakin encompasses conservation custodial duties security and in a large way since De Maria s death in 2013 curation 2 Lakin also says that the sculpture takes on a rhythmic order akin to musicality 2 and Dilworth notes as you pace in front of them they appear to vibrate and dance like a radiant bed of scrupulous moray eels 2 In 2017 Daisy Alioto studied the online reviews of The Broken Kilometer and discovered patterns in how people respond to the work Negative reviews centered on underwhelmed visitors who saw the piece as unrightfully taking up valuable real estate seeing the piece as a financial interloper whose cultural merit wasn t worth its proverbial weight in real estate gold 5 Positive reviews noted that the piece as well as The New York Earth Room was a respite from the city and in contrast to the wildness found on the streets nearby 5 History edit nbsp The storefront of the gallery space that houses The Broken KilometerThe space that now houses The Broken Kilometer was previously the second site of Heiner Friedrich s gallery the first location of this gallery is two blocks away and where another work by De Maria The New York Earth Room is now on permanent display 2 6 Friedrich was one of the founders of the Dia Art Foundation 6 which commissioned The Broken Kilometer 7 The sculpture has been on public display since it was installed in 1979 and is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation as one of eleven locations and sites they manage 8 1 In 1977 De Maria created The Vertical Earth Kilometer which The Broken Kilometer is a companion piece to It is in Kassel Germany and uses a brass rod with the same weight length and diameter as this work 1 There have been few changes to the work or the space it is in over the years The most notable changes include the installation of a bench in the mid 2010s 2 and in 2018 the Dia Art Foundation undertook a 78 million campaign to add to their endowment and renovate all of the spaces it owns with a new climate control system planned for The Broken Kilometer so it can remain open year round 9 References edit a b c d Walter De Maria The Broken Kilometer 1979 Exhibition pamphlet 2019 Dia Art Foundation a b c d e f Lakin Max Catching Up With the Keepers of Soho s Artistic Flame The Village Voice December 18 2017 Retrieved August 17 2020 21 Can t Fail Date Ideas for Art Lovers in New York From MoMA and a Martini to a Romantic Land Art Pilgrimage Upstate Artnet February 6 2019 Retrieved August 25 2020 a b Ashman Sam Meet the Couple Who Are Gatekeepers to New York s Hidden Minimalist Monuments Artsy March 31 2016 Retrieved August 17 2020 a b Alioto Daisy Yelp and TripAdvisor Critics Take on Walter De Maria Hyperallergic October 4 2017 Retrieved August 17 2020 a b Hoban Phoebe Medicis for a Moment The Collapse of the Dia Dream New York Magazine November 25 1985 Retrieved August 17 2020 Walter De Maria The Broken Kilometer Dia Art Foundation Retrieved August 18 2020 Visit our Locations and Sites Dia Art Foundation Retrieved August 15 2020 Zeiba Drew Architecture Research Office to oversee Dia renovations and expansion The Architect s Newspaper June 8 2018 Retrieved August 17 2020 External links editDia artwork page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Broken Kilometer amp oldid 1183088791, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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