September 2017. 1001 Voices: An Anthem for a New America
Installation of a new panoramic window installation of visual poetry at CUNY School of Law, LIC, NY.
A presentation of The Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice.

The poem—written by Judith Sloan, visualized by Warren Lehrer for street-level windows at 2 Court Square—portrays a message of welcome and inclusion as it celebrates the Law School’s mission: “law in the service of human needs.” This installation is part of The Sorensen Center’s Justice Through Art Initiative, a collaboration between CUNY Law’s community and artists in order to bring new perspectives and depth to social justice issues and legal challenges. At a time when “Sanctuary Cities” like New York are under attack for their efforts to protect immigrants and asylum seekers, this public work—located across from the Court Square subway station on a bustling street in the most diverse county in America—sheds the light of poetry and art on a national crisis that is dividing the country and calling into question the meaning of the “American Dream.”

Lehrer’s panoramic design sets discrete phrases within the poem into their own panels—through typography, photography, color, shape, metaphor. Lehrer describes, “I want viewers to experience the wordscapes as a field and as single panels in whatever direction they/you/we may be heading.” Each of the 17, six-and-a-half foot wide panels float within a street level window. The panels are double-sided, enabling viewers to interact with the poem inside and outside of the building.

On view now. Come visit the window installation at 2 Court Square, LIC, NY 11101. Across from the Citibank building at the Courthouse Square subway: M, E, G, 7 train.
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