Socrates Sculpture Park /

Socrates Sculpture Park is a truly remarkable place with a history to match. This book, published for the park's 20th anniversary, lovingly captures its spirit of creativity and collaboration, with more than 200 photos and 13 commentaries. Socrates Park was the brainchild of internationally celebrated sculptor Mark Di Suervo, whose studio abutted a 4.5 acre landfill and illegal dump site on the East River in Queens, New York. Di Suervo's vision was to transform this eyesore into an outdoor sculpture gallery, educational resource, training ground for young artists, and a place of community pride. Mobilizing people from the neighborhood, the international arts community, and the political establishment, Di Suervo spearheaded the development of what is today New York's largest contemporary sculpture park and an official part of the City's Department of Parks and Recreation. Since its founding, the park has presented some 50 juried exhibitions of large-scale sculpture by some 500 artists, and attracts some 65,000 visitors annually, an award-winning example of the role of art in community revitalization. Three brief, articulate essays and nine even briefer, touching commentaries by notables; excellent information about the park's exhibition history, participating artists, and people behind the project's success. A must contemporary art purchase. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty. J. A. Day University of South Dakota