Hey Blake,

I noticed that the sculptures of the two women in bathing suits on Poydras Street have been taken down. Is there any reason for this?

MITCHEL

Dear Mitchel,

Those amazingly lifelike sculptures of two female swimmers, perched on Poydras Street in just their swimsuits and caps, have caused many a downtown passerby to do a double take since they were installed in April 2015. They are the work of New York artist Carole A. Feuerman and were installed there as part of the outdoor art project Sculpture for New Orleans.

That project is the brainchild of artists Michael Manjarris and Peter Lundberg. Created to help brighten the local landscape post-Hurricane Katrina, it has placed 77 sculptures throughout the city since 2007. The art is the work of local, regional and international artists. Since they are not permanent installations, some sculptures, like the swimmers, disappear when others are introduced. The sculptures have been located all over town, from Audubon Park and New Orleans City Park to Lafayette Square, Convention Center Boulevard and Poydras Street. Donors help underwrite the project and the Poydras installations are underwritten by The Helis Foundation.

According to organizers, Feuerman’s 2014 oil-painted resin sculptures, which are titled Kendall Island and Yaima and the Ball, were removed a few weeks ago. Those two sculptures are headed to Venice, Italy for a show during the Venice Biennale in May. Feuerman’s sculptures have been replaced on Poydras Street by the work of Ray Smith, who has studios in Cuernavaca, Texas and New York. His sculpture is called El Pajaro y la Nina.

 

Read the article on Gambit.