Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Photos: Bunny Ears & Wandering Serenaders Are Now In City Hall Park
By
Scott Lynch
Published Jun 30, 2016
Modified Jun 30, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Scott Lynch / Gothamist
View all 21
By
Scott Lynch
Published Jun 30, 2016
Modified Jun 30, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Since 1977, the Public Art Fund has been using City Hall Park as one of its premier outdoor galleries, bringing contemporary art to what is nowadays a surprisingly calm and pleasant greenspace in the Financial District.
The newest exhibition, titled The Language of Things, officially opened this week, with seven pieces scattered throughout the southern end of the park near the historic fountain.
The Language of Things "speaks to our innate attempts to understand and read patterns inherent to the world around us," says The Public Art Fund's website, and that's probably true. Most intriguing to me was Tino Sehgal's "This You," for which performers wander around the park from sunrise to sunset—when one of them catches your eye, he or she starts singing to you.
Sehgal hasn't given his singers a specific set list; instead they're instructed to burst into whatever tune immediately comes to mind when they see you. Twice I was serenaded: first with "Cabaret," and then with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." For the most part, passersby seemed delighted by these impromptu performances, which are brief but accomplished.
Other works of note include "The Italian Bunnies" by Claudia Comte, which features bunny ears sprouting from the grass near Broadway; Adam Pendleton's "Code Poem," made up of dots and dashes that double as seats; and "Ring Angels," a four-channel sound installation that plays an eighteen-minute looped recording of a murmuration of starlings. This last one is lovely.
The Language of Things will be at City Hall Park through September 29th.
Tagged
city hall park
language of things
public art
public art fund
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .