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Glimmering 'Crystal Balls' Filled With Junk to Light Up Madison Square Park

  “Gazing Globes” will be displayed from Feb. 19 to April 19.
Gazing Globes
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FLATIRON — More than a dozen illuminated “crystal balls” filled with used batteries, discarded computer parts and other junk will go on display in Madison Square Park later this month.

Called “Gazing Globes,” the exhibit will feature 18 orbs made of hand-blown glass filled with manmade items. The globes will be perched on fiberglass pedestals rising 24 to 27 inches off the ground, and will appear like glowing planets, according to the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

The exhibit will be displayed in the gravel portion of the park beginning Feb. 19.

“I wanted to create something that can exist as a public work that you could gaze into, rather than it reflect back at you, “ said Brooklyn-based artist Paula Hayes, who has worked as a landscape designer for 20 years.

“Industrial materials are extremely durable to the point that the earth can’t digest them. I wanted to transform them into something that compels us to look at them — that makes us want to look at them.”

The globes will be lit from the inside with LED lights and will be coated with powder made of pulverized CDs to create a shimmering effect.

“Gazing Globes demonstrates how an artist can push materials and content when given the opportunity to work outdoors in Madison Square Park,” said Brooke Kamin Rapaport, senior curator for the conservancy.

“Gazing Globes” will be displayed from Feb. 19 to April 19.