- Location: Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn, NY (1993)
- Client: Parks & Recreation Department and 1% for Art Program, New York City
- Architects: Goldstone & Heinz Landscape
- Architect: Quinnell Rothschild
- Size: 8 figures, between 8′ x 4′ x 3′ to 16′ x 24′ x 20′
- Materials: Aluminum & boxwood
- Budget: $190,000
- Photo Credits: Kathy Chapman
Living Sculpture
The aluminum sculptures of Topiary are surrounded by plantings of boxwood, which have grown to fill the sculptures over the course of 20 years. The gradual change has allowed children as they visit and revisit the zoo to see the sculptures grow-up with them through the years.
Gateways
The artists redesigned the south entrance of the Prospect Park Zoo with two serpentine paths intertwining around the topiary and guiding visitors into the zoo from the nearby subway station. Two of the sculptures span across these paths, energizing the space and creating dramatic gateways.
Illustration of sculptures installed at the Zoo’s south entrance
Experiencing the Zoo
The scale of the sculptures lends a presence to the creatures that they represent and reinforces the sense of wonder that people feel at the zoo.