Thomas Lawson Civic Virtue / Civic Rights
About the Exhibition
Civic Virtue/Civic Rights by Thomas Lawson (b. 1951, Glasgow, Scotland) is a three-panel disklike structure placed on the former site of Frederick MacMonnie’s 1919 sculpture, Civic Virtue. It combines images of that sculpture, and of the Nathan Hale and Horace Greeley statues (also found in City Hall Park) with text panels bearing the phrases “civic virtues” and “civil rights.” Lawson says, “I envisage creating a situation that will encourage people to consider the public discourse on civic virtues and civil rights as it is represented in public sculpture, and to reflect on the disparity between that discourse and daily reality.”
Lawson’s work is exhibited along with works by Edgar Heap-of-Birds, Christopher Hewat, Margia Kramer, and Yong Soon Min.
Photo Gallery
This installation is sponsored by the Public Art Fund, Inc., in cooperation with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York City Department of Transportation.
Related Exhibitions
Originally presented at West Broadway & Grand Street
