Warping the Weft: Ecological Interstices Through Material Compositions

Abstract

“Warping the Weft” examines the potential of public art to create unique ecologies as a distinctive public artwork. Often positioned as two separate disciplines, this project explores the emerging possibilities of integrating landscape architecture and public art. Utilizing the Percent for Art program, a public artwork is integrated into the redevelopment plan of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Hospital in East Flatbush, New York. Using the format of a weave, mosaic configurations of material and plants create portals revealing historical realities of the site: the oak-hickory forests of Lenapehoking, colonial farmlands, and remnants of the former psychiatric hospital built for the rapidly urbanizing city. Glass imagery is integrated into the mosaic, as speculation on possible past and future landscapes within the site. Water acts as a connective material: swales empty and fill to complete the weave, speaking to ever-present yet unaddressed perspectives and emotional realities omitted from historical records.