174th Street and Crotona Park
One of a series of sculptures exploring the passage of time in Time Flies, 1997
Time Flies, 1997
bronze, brass, copper and aluminum
New York City Board of Education/Percent for Art Program
Christy Rupp's sculpture, Time Flies, explores the concept and relativity of time. The work consists of a series of sculptures encircling double-sided hall clocks. Constructed of bronze, brass, copper and aluminum, they include images of animals, such as rabbits, a turtle, a jaguar and an ammonite. Each figure represents a concept of time: for example, the jaguar symbolizes speed while the turtle signifies a slower pace. The animal figures are presented as pairs uniting the concepts of time passing slowly to time passing quickly. One form depicts a turtle with a clock implanted in its shell, while a group of rabbits, at one o clock, start racing around the perimeter. Another form pairs a comet to an ammonite (a fossil), and a third, a jaguar with a bronze sloth under the frame of a clock.
Rupp's work at E.C.C. #2 also deals with the issue of how experiences of time are relative depending on the stage of life we are in. The concept for the Early Childhood Center is to integrate and combine a day care center with an elementary school so that the children may be enrolled as early as 18 months old and stay in the same environment up to 6th grade. More about the Percent for Art Program
