Press Release
Artist Bio
Sponsorship
Location
Bibliography

mixed media

September - October 2000

Whitney Museum of American Art at
Philip Morris, Tompkins Square Park and
Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Olav Westphalen describes Extremely Site-Unspecific Sculpture (E.S.U.S.) as, "an artwork which functions equally well at almost any imaginable site at any time." Resembling a cross between a high-tech U.F.O, a Weber grill and a child's toy, E.S.U.S. is comprised of several flexible components: tripod legs that can be lengthened or shortened according to the surface upon which it sits, a bright red fiberglass body that doubles as a floatation device, and a solar powered lighting system. Utilizing the adaptability and portability of Westphalen's cartoonish E.S.U.S., the piece was seen at various locations throughout New York City including the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, Tompkins Square Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Artist Bio
Olav Westphalen's artistic practice is as incisive as it is humorous, and he is perhaps best known for his comedy routine performance entitled Bruhaha. His work has been exhibited internationally at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, Chocolate Factory, Sweden, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, Apex Art, New York, and Four Walls, San Francisco, among many other museums and galleries.

Sponsorship
E.S.U.S. is a project of the Public Art Fund, commissioned through In the Public Realm, a program supported by the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The Silverweed Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, and friends of the Public Art Fund.

Location
September 22nd -24th on view at Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris
September 25th -26th on view at Tompkins Square Park
September 27th -Octobber 27th on view at Flushing Meadows Corona Park