Giant Sculpture Turns Weather into Art at World Financial Center, On Display 5/3-12/31

A kinetic sculpture that converts weather data into flashing lights and rotating parts will be on view for free at the World Financial Center Plaza from May 3 through December 31.

"Weather Beacon," a new sculpture by artist Erik Guzman, will turn weather into art over the course of four seasons, translating weather data received via radio waves into visual representations of spring breezes, winter winds, and everything in between. Presented by Arts World Financial Center, the eight-foot tall, sixteen-foot wide piece aims to provide a stunning new means for the public to engage with the invisible atmosphEric Changes around them.

Guzman has been winning steady acclaim for his kinetic sculptures, elegant metal contraptions which respond to various elements of their environment with light and movement. His work has been shown at venues throughout the world, including Exit Art, The Kitchen, and El Museo Del Barrio in New York, the Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and at galleries in Puerto Rico and Tokyo. He has also organized dozens of art exhibitions and has lectured on the subject of New York's emerging artists.

"Part of our mission is to present art that prompts the casual passerby to stop for a closer look and leave a little bit more enlightened than before," said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of Arts World Financial Center. "‘Weather Beacon' takes an element of daily life that most people take for granted and transforms it into a gorgeous, thought-provoking sculpture that will mesmerize viewers of all ages."

Weather Beacon has been made possible, in part, by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council with the generous support of The September 11th Fund.

About Arts World Financial Center
Now in its 22nd season, Arts World Financial Center is the East Coast's largest presenter of free, year-round performing and visual arts. Other spring season highlights include Wisdom, a photo exhibit of iconic figures over 65; the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Teen Exhibition, showcasing the work of outstanding teenaged artists and writers; and More Or Less I Am, a music-theater adaptation of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself." A leading showcase for visual and performing arts, the organization makes the artistic process accessible in a free, open and interactive manner to workers, residents and the broader public of cultural consumers.