With over 2½ years of planning, conceiving, reworking, and production, Red, Yellow and Blue has been fully realized with the inimitable help of many dedicated installation crew members who worked tirelessly for 11 days. Brought to Madison Square Park on over 400 pallets, the 1.4 million feet of hand-knotted nautical rope traveled from Massachusetts, Maine, Brooklyn, and up and down the Eastern coastline to Madison Square Park in long sections of up to 125 feet. With the meticulous direction of the artist, the installation crew (many students and artists in their own right) layered each section of rope one at a time to build the three separate forms. Each layer was threaded through steel posts which were drilled into the lawns every few feet and formed the structural support for the work.

A largely physical process, the artist and her crew shaped the massive and heavy sections of rope into its distinct waves, crests and towering walls. Genger, who refers to the installation process as a form of “wrestling” with the materials, believes in intimately handling the rope herself, bringing to light the malleable and organic nature of the material. When Red, Yellow and Blue travels to deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum located outside of Boston, MA in October 2013, Genger and her team will reimagine the work once again for the museum’s unique outdoor space!

Ten percent of the rope required for Red, Yellow and Blue was repurposed from the artist’s monumental work featured at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Big Boss (2010). Almost all of the rope for both of these works was provided by the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF), a not-for-profit organization comprised of lobstermen, scientists and members of the community dedicated to protecting and sustaining a healthy lobster fishery within the Gulf of Maine. The GOMLF also strives to promote education about sustainable practices, and actively works to reuse or repurpose the raw material to produce dog toys, woven mats, building materials, other consumer goods and – in this case – artwork!

Over the past several years – through sun, rain, and snow – dedicated GOMLF teams have gathered 1.4 million feet of discarded lobster and nautical rope along hundreds of miles up and down the Eastern coastline. The 100,000 pounds of rope collected for the project has quite a long and interesting history, having traveled hundreds of miles via boat, truck, and pallets to ultimately land in and enliven New York’s Madison Square Park.

The rope for Red, Yellow and Blue is comprised of mostly “ground line,” which is rope that is used to string multiple traps together at the bottom of the ocean with each one measuring up to 1 mile in length! Rope that is no longer viable for use is normally burned, discarded in landfills, or dumped overboard. Through the intrepid and admirable efforts of the GOMFL, there is less marine debris that would normally pollute and obstruct the delicate ecosystems in our oceans. This spirit is embodied in the Conservancy’s own objectives in keeping Madison Square Park green and clean, and encouraging environmentally-sound practices every day.

In addition, after its exhibition run in New York, Genger’s Red, Yellow and Blue will then travel to deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum located near Boston, MA. Scheduled to debut there in October 2013, the work will be reimagined by Genger for the institution’s unique outdoor space where it will delight a completely new audience of art lovers.

A special THANK YOU goes out to Laura Ludwig; Erin Pelletier, Executive Director of the GOMLF; and all of the wonderfully dedicated men and women of the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation. We truly could not have done this without you!

Led by a Mad. Sq. Art staff member, go behind-the-scenes and join us as we talk about the inspiration behind the work and share your thoughts on the role of public art. For more information, please contact us at: info@madisonsquarepark.org

Led by a Mad. Sq. Art staff member, go behind-the-scenes and join us as we talk about the inspiration behind the work and share your thoughts on the role of public art. For more information, please contact us at: info@madisonsquarepark.org

Led by a Mad. Sq. Art staff member, go behind-the-scenes and join us as we talk about the inspiration behind the work and share your thoughts on the role of public art. For more information, please contact us at: info@madisonsquarepark.org

Led by a Mad. Sq. Art staff member, go behind-the-scenes and join us as we talk about the inspiration behind the work and share your thoughts on the role of public art. For more information, please contact us at: info@madisonsquarepark.org

Led by a Mad. Sq. Art staff member, go behind-the-scenes and join us as we talk about the inspiration behind the work and share your thoughts on the role of public art. For more information, please contact us at: info@madisonsquarepark.org

We welcome Sonya as our 2013 Playground Activities Assistant and we’re so thrilled to have her! Sonya will be our creative brains for the next six months with a background and MFA in printmaking as well as an MS in art and design education. Tuesday marked her first day and she wowed us with paper bag trees, coffee filter flowers and paper beads. Moving forward she she will be on hand in the playground Tuesday through Saturday with a morning craft session from 10am-12:30pm and afternoon session from 2pm-4:30pm. We encourage everyone to participate in this free program for your little ones. No signup is necessary and make sure to check out our calendar of events to see what Art in the Park and EXPLORE! activities Sonya has in store for us!

The CRAFTS tent was exploding with creative projects including coffee filter and recycled butterflies with MSPC, tissue paper flowers with Free Arts, NYC, instructional origami with Taro’s Origami Studio, flower and butterfly rings with the Rubin Museum of Art and tabletop activities with Apple Seeds. Our performers rocked the house with one in particular rocking in prehistoric style. Thanks to Songs for Seeds, Rolie Polie Guacamole, Field Station: Dinosaurs and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo!

Where do the kids flock to when their bellies are full of churros, jelly beans, cookies from The Treats Truck, Rita’s Italian Ice, Pop Chips, Poland Spring Water, fruit snacks from Clif Kid, and Pirates Booty? Answer: the GAMES tent! The GAMES tent was loaded with fun camp style activities from Gate Hill Day Camp, ring toss with Hill Country Chicken, yoga with Karma Kids Yoga, interactive fun with MoMath and the MSPC EXPLORE! activity. In the MOVIES tent we learned how to make thaumatropes with the Museum of the Moving Image and were introduced to Disney/Pixar’s upcoming film Monsters University in theaters June 21. Let’s not forget storytime readings with our friends at DiMenna Children’s History Museum who acquainted us with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Adventures of Taxi Dog.

It was truly a wonderful day and we look forward to a wonderful 2013 Mad. Sq. Kids season!

Go to our Spring Kids Fest Flickr page for more photos.

Our live music and performance lineup will definitely not disappoint! Make sure to check out our headlining performance at 1pm with Secret Agent 23 Skidoo over on the southern gravel. More must-sees include performances by Songs for Seeds on the northern end of the park throughout the day and Rolie Polie Guacamole at 11am and Field Station: Dinosaurs at 12 pm in the southern end.

The CRAFTS tent is located in the northern end of the park and is loaded with kid friendly projects for your crafting. Create two different types of butterflies with MSPC, learn all about origami with Taro’s Origami Studio, make flower and butterfly rings with the Rubin Museum of Art, science and construction activities with Apple Seeds, and tissue paper flowers with Free Arts NYC.

Head over the to Oval Lawn (you can’t miss it!) for more interactive fun in our GAMES station! Our friends at Karma Kids Yoga will have ongoing yoga sessions throughout the day. Get your arm ready for a ring toss with our friends at Hill Country Chicken, plus hula hooping with Clif Kid! Our neighbors at MoMath never disappoint and are bringing a slew of interactive activities for all ages including a maze mat. Gate Hill Day Camp will roll out their camp-style games, introducing us to “Builders and Bulldozers” and many more!

Head over to the southern gravel to the MOVIES tent and see the screen gems in action! Disney/Pixar will be on hand promoting Monsters University, in theaters June 21, while the Museum of the Moving Image will help us craft thaumatropes, a toy from Victorian times. Don’t know what a thaumatrope is? Head to the tent and experience the fun!

Feeling a bit famished? Check out our EATING tent on the southern gravel loaded with sugar cookies from Treats Truck, water from Poland Spring, chilling delights from Rita’s Italian Ice, and more than the eye can see of Popchips and Pirate’s Booty products. While you’re there, make sure to stop by and say hello to our sponsors Time Out Kids, World Class Learning Academy, NYC, New York Life, 10 Madison Square West and Urbansitter to see how they’re pulling out all the stops!

Looking for a story time or two? Head over to our BOOKS section directly across the way with the DiMenna Children’s History Museum for crafts and readings of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Adventures of Taxi Dog!

See what we mean?! There are so many great things happening at Spring Kids Fest 2013! Check out the full schedule of events below.

Spring Kids Fest 2013 takes place at Madison Square Park, rain or shine, at 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenues. A BIG thanks to our sponsors for providing only the best for our Mad. Sq. Kids.