A Buddha, Full of Air, Sits Serenely on the Waves

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Sharon Otterman

NEW YORK---The 10-foot-high inflatable Buddha sat on a wooden lily pad in a cove of the East River, bobbing gently back and forth on the ripples of the tide. As a public park run by a nonprofit corporation, the Socrates Sculpture Park regularly hosts playful, provocative outdoor art displays that change with the seasons. “Floating Echo,” by Chang-Jin Lee, a Korean-born visual artist who lives in New York City, is part of an exhibition by emerging artists. Religion is often, like economics or culture, a subject of the public art at the park, said John Hatfield, the park’s executive director. A short walk from the Buddha, for example, was a statue of the Virgin Mary made of birdseed; it changes each day with the pecks of twittering sparrows. “Religion is a part of our lives, and therefore it’s a part of what artists are sometimes interested in exploring, philosophically, politically, spiritually,” Mr. Hatfield said. [link]