ASTORIA — A new art installation coming to Socrates Sculpture Park lets visitors walk in paths carved through a flower-covered, five-foot-tall solid patch of soil.
The "earthwork" dubbed "Concave Room for Bees" consists of a 70-foot-wide circular bowl filled with soil and flowers, grasses and herbs that attract bees and other pollinating insects.
Paths will be carved through the structure so parkgoers will be able to walk through and experience a "multisensory mix of botanical aromas, insect hums, dewy air, and vibrantly colored flora," according to an announcement about the piece, which opens May 8.
The sculpture, by Meg Webster, was commissioned by the park to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, and is part of an exhibit that harkens to its origins in 1986, when it was transformed from a garbage-strewn stretch of waterfront into a public outdoor art space.
Webster's piece is part of a park-wide exhibit called "Landmark," which includes eight other installations surrounding the theme of nature and the environment, with several incorporating the parkland itself into the work.
In Jessica Segall's "Fugue in B♭," an old piano harp will be transformed into an active beehive. The sculpture will create sounds as the bees move around the piano chords, organizers said.
In another work, the art organization ARTPORT_making waves will display its series of short videos about climate change, shown inside a shipping container set up inside the park.
"Landmark" will be displayed May 8 through Aug. 28.
