orensanz summer museum ACTIVITIES

July 13th from October 3rdPERFORMANCE

Angel Orensanz raises a serpent in the Bay of New York

New York, July 13, 2009––Sculptor Angel Orensanz gathered a group of artists, musicians and writers at his “Orensanz Summer Museum” in Governors Island in New York Harbor. He exhibits an ample collection of drawings and photos of transparent acetate there. But his trip from Paris was motivated to present a new work as part of his temporary museum on the island. The work consists of a large serpent created from textiles that crawls from the height of a gigantic elm tree in front of the Museum. “This serpent/sculpture”, comments Angel Orensanz, “is an allegory of the cultural and social climate in the U.S.”. Orensanz has brought to the serenity of the green and the surrounding harbor an alarm: the country could be on its way out of the world hegemony and be wounded by unemployment and doubt.

The Spanish-American sculptor, who resides in New York City, has erected the voluminous reptile that descends the tree––tempting the visitors whom he seems to be ready to expel from the paradise and the splendor on the grass.

When the visitor who enters the Orensanz Museum is surprised by the unexpected voices of children’s voices singing Spanish carols. The mental association with the last sequences of the Titanic becomes self-evident: the festive music evokes the catastrophic last moments. Inside the Museum, there is always a lively congregation of writers, artists and visitors that come during the weekends to discuss theatre, music and contemporary literature.