PUBLIC
YEAA-a-a-a-a-ah!’, a tribute to Kool DJ Red Alert’ - This Sustainable Sonic Statue is a celebration of Kool DJ Red Alert and Harlem’s contribution to Hip Hop Culture. Kool DJ Red Alert is a Harlem based legendary Hip Hop DJ, whose contribution to Hip Hop is spans over 40 years and into its now 50th anniversary. Red Alert grew up in Harlem during Hip Hop’s infancy and attended parties hosted by the father of Hip Hop, DJ Kool Herc, and many other early Hip Hop contributors. The influence of these early Hip Hop luminaries steered Red Alert into the art of blending records on turntables to keep party goers dancing and later led to his disc jockey gig at 98.7 Kiss FM.
Harlem, NYC - Montefiore Square Park - (June 30 - Oct 30, 2024)
We appreciate you Ralph!” is a celebration of VJ Ralph McDaniels and his contributions to Queens Hip-Hop Culture. Ralph McDaniels, currently the Hip-Hop Coordinator for Queens Public Library, is the legendary co-founder and host of Video Music Box which documented the early stages of Hip-Hop in NYC parks and clubs along with the early careers of many artists of the 1980s and 90s. Some of these early career artists are from Queens, including LL Cool J, Run-Dmc and Salt & Peppa.
Queens, NY - Jamaica Performing Art Center - (June 30 - Oct 13, 2024)
Botanical Boombox: Brooklyn Branch is a sustainable sonic sculpture will take the form of a solar paneled Tree that bear fruit representing a multitude of talented Hip-Hop Artists that blossom out of various Brooklyn neighborhoods. The solar paneled tree is a metaphor for Hip-Hop which supplied a cultural canopy to communities by offering stimulation, inspiration and activation through music, dance, spoken word and visual art. This Hip-Hop renaissance sparked a rebirth of consciousness in self identity, community and expression.
Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Botanic Garden - (June 17 - October 22, 2023)
A Sustainable Sonic Sculptural tribute dedicated to the legacy of Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. Born and raised in Brooklyn, B.I.G.'s musical frequency is rooted in American, Jamaican, and African rhythms. A true Diasporic sound, internationally recognized and celebrated as a King among hip hop royalty; Where Brooklyn at?!
Dumbo Brooklyn, NY - Clumber Corner Park - (2022 - present)
Botanical Boombox is a Sustainable Mini Greenhouse Boombox sculpture that houses a miniature public housing ecosystem amplifying dreams and stories of personal growth and struggle. Inside this Boombox greenhouse is an arrangement of diverse plants that symbolize the voice of voiceless, individual lived experience by local Hip Hop Artist, sprouting through the redlined concrete of Queensbridge Houses as a metaphoric photosynthesis.
Flushing Queens, NY - Queens Botanical Garden - (2022 - present)
A Sustainable Sonic Monument dedicated to the artistry of Queens Hip-Hop legend LL Cool J, his native Queens NY and his historical performance at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Queens, NY - Flushing Meadows Corona Park - (2021 - 2022)
Passenger Relief is a sculptural reportage of the energy and activities of LaGuardia Airport captured through drawing, photograph and relief sculpture by Queens-based artist, Sherwin Banfield. This project in collaboration with Queens Council on the Arts and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will take the viewer through the creative process of designing an onsite public sculpture by illustrating inspiration, creative documentation and collective presentation.
Marine Air Terminal A, LaGuardia Airport, Queens NYC - (2019 - present)
This Sculptural work is an exploration of sonic identity expressed through the frequency of the Hip Hop Cypher. A Hip Hop Cypher is a participatory gathering of onlookers forming a circle to experience the frequencies of a freestyle battle between Emcees, DJs or Breakdancers within. This Sculptural Cypher consists of three Audio Sculptures, each representing the sonic identities of three Legendary Fallen Artists from Queens, NY. One DJ (Jam Master Jay) and two Emcees (Phife Dawg and Prodigy). These three Hip Hop Icons were chosen for their individuality, unique style of delivery, excellence and contribution to the Art-form of Hip Hop. Each Audio Sculpture celebrates not just the artistry of Hip Hop Culture, but also serve as a Memorial for the Genius of each Artist Representing Queens. Standing nine feet tall looking down upon the viewer, each sculpted Artist is rendered within an acoustic enclosure, capable of outputting the sonic identity of their musical legacy.
Astoria Queens, NY - Socrates Sculpture Park - (2018 - 2019)
Created by New York City based sculptor Sherwin Banfield, Transitions through Triathlon is a unique Triathlon influenced Public Sculpture Project. Transitions through Triathlon is a collective story about my personal journey of becoming a Triathlete during the New York City Triathlon and that of fellow team mates of LLS. My mission for Transitions through Triathlon, is to engage the viewer, who as a spectator, looks onto the sculpture as an athletic event. I encourage the viewer to discover the story of the event, unfolding through the actions of the figures...
(Discover more about Transitions through Triathlon in the PROJECTS section or by clicking HERE)
N.Y.C. - Riverside Park South - (2013 - 2014)
Located in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, nestled upon a circular mound where 3 paths converge, is the home of our Collaborative Public Sculpture, Flock, by the 2012/2013 Model to Monument fellows. This collaborative effort by all seven M2M artist took shape over the 8 months. Each artist contributing individualized interpretive proposals which then grew organically into an all encompassing avian idea. As a group. the process of condensing our designs, were painstakingly critiqued and voted upon until our ideas arrived at the final Flock model...
(Discover more about FLOCK in the PROJECTS section or by clicking HERE)
N.Y.C. - Van Cortlandt Park - (2013 - 2014)
PUBLIC SCULPTURE PROPOSAL IDEAS
I begin my idea with what I imagine as a metaphor to the business model of Vornado Realty Trust, the canopy of the forest. In nature, the tallest trees in a forest form a canopy. This canopy protects the ecosystem of life that lives in the shadows of these larger trees from harsh elements above. It is the protection of the canopy that allows the smaller plants and other living creatures to thrive in their own private ecosystems. Each real estate property is like a large tree in a concrete forest, protecting the ecosystem of leasing businesses that thrive beneath its massive branches. Vornado Realty Trust’s portfolio of properties is a massive canopy...
(Discover more about CANOPY in the PROJECTS section or by clicking HERE)
