Here is a little more info:

“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute: Re-creating the Cardiff Giant” is a project by Syracuse Artist Ty Marshal which re-creates the Cardiff Giant according to the original size specifications. Ty will be using Hypertufa, a mix of Portland cement, peat moss, and perlite (which creates a “lighter concrete” that can withstand harsh weather conditions). The project’s focus defines a lineage to Central New York’s history as a creative community, how religious fundamentalism has affected modern culture in Upstate New York and throughout the nation, and the origin of arts and entertainment (notably “pop culture”) in the United States, and how arts and culture serves as an economic engine.

the park & the shark from jkolby on Vimeo.

One year ago Brendan Rose designed and built the “Art Shark” in Lipe Art Park to create a permanent piece of public art in the park that serves both as an art wall, a shaded structure, and as a piece of sculpture in its own right.  During the making of it, Brendan Rose and Jason Kohlbrenner filmed a short documentary showing the creation of the piece while simultaneously telling the story of the park and the surrounding neighborhood.  Grab some popcorn and take a look, it is well worth your time.

For three hours the Stewards of Lipe Art Park and the 40 Below Public Arts Task Force, in partnership with the Near Westside Initiative hosted a snow sculpture competition. Eight sculptures were created including a recreation of the “Spirit of Syracuse” (the statue on the National Grid building), a replica of the Gear Factory, a boat on the Eerie Canal, and a giant hand (with colored fingernails).

While the groups worked hard on their sculptures, general spectators watched on, tried their aim at the snowball target range, perused the ice gallery wall, and tried some amazing homemade cupcakes and hot beverages. At the end of the afternoon, as fresh snow was falling quickly onto the sculptures, a jury selected three winners, all receiving a prize from a local Syracuse establishment.

It was wonderful to see so many people come out to Lipe Art Park to enjoy an afternoon playing in the snow. It was a great mix of Near Westside residents as well as people from all over the city coming together at the park. It seems that nothing brings people together like snow, cupcakes, and hot chocolate!

Based on the success of the event, look out for Upstate Snowdown again in 2012!

Check out the Post Standard article about the event here: PDF of article

Visit 40 Below Public Art Task Force for additional information.

Join the fun at Lipe Art Park Saturday, February 5th, from 1pm to 4pm for the UPSTATE SNOWDOWN!  During the afternoon their will be a snow sculpture competition (with great prizes), an Ice Gallery wall, a snowball throwing contest, and plenty of hot drinks and cupcakes to go around. The event is being hosted by the Syracuse 40 Below Public Art Taskforce as a fundraising event.

To be a part of the snow sculpture competition, please *Reserve your space by emailing info@40belowpatf.com. Competition “plots” of snow are $10* (all proceeds go toward public art projects around Syracuse)

• Plots will be approximately 12×12 ft.
• Sculptors can begin building at 11 am, judging will take place at 4pm sharp
• Props and embellishments are fully authorized (and encouraged)
• Sculptors should bring their own building supplies
• Prizes will be given in the following categories: Best Local Reference, Most “Out-of-the-Box,” Maximum-ist

See you there!

The piece was designed and built by Brendan Rose (creator of the Art Shark) and SMAD, a group of Syracuse University design and architecture students.  It is solid concrete and looks great in the green grass and in our current snow state of affairs!  Click on the flickr images on the right to see more images of the work in progress as well as the finished piece.

Taken from the Syracuse Post Standard

by Sean Kirst on September 12th, 2010.

I stopped Saturday at the Lipe Art Park, where 27 Syracuse firefighters spent time – in heavy jackets and equipment – silently recreating several poses from iconic photographs taken on Sept. 11 of grieving and weary New York City firefighters.

Each participant was expected to remain silent and to hold the pose – with as little motion as possible – for up to 30 minutes. Bypassers would occasionally pull over, walk up, watch for a while and then leave. Motorists would give a frequent “thumbs up” or honked their horns.

All in all, it had a little of the feeling of a shrine.

The reenactment was the idea of city firefighter Ted Ackerman. He stayed in the background Saturday as his colleagues took their turns. It was a hot day, and they wore hot equipment, but firefighter John Lisi said his shift really wasn’t hard.

“Not as hard as what they went through,” he said, referring to the 343 firefighters and paramedics who died on Sept. 11.

In the mid-19th Century, Syracuse, New York, was central to the anti-slavery movement in the United States. Called the “Great Central Depot,” its residents, and those of the surrounding region, helped thousands of individuals escape slavery. Jermaine Loguen, a local Reverend and station master in the Underground Railroad, called Syracuse an “Open City” because he and fellow abolitionists spoke and published anti-slavery sentiments while openly providing sanctuary for freedom-seekers.

The Open City Workshop, May 17-June 4, 2010 at 307 Clinton Street, will be open to the public for three weeks of discussions, workshops and brainstorming. The discussions will be shared on Redhouse Radio, through video recordings and ultimately used to create Open City animations featured in a public presentation. This culminating one night, community event will respond to the question, “Is Syracuse an Open City today? What would it mean to move Loguen’s Open City from the realm of metaphor to a lived reality today?”

The three weeks of open workshops will culminate in a spectacular outdoor public event: The Great Central Depot in the Open City on June 5, 2010 at Lipe Art Park

To learn more,click here.

Here are some pictures from Saturday: