The New York Artists’ Memorial Garden

Frontal view of a small, engraved rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “Presented by Art Production Fund & White Columns.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “Kevin Ward Robbins, April 22, 1962- June 13, 1992.”

Frontal view of a small, engraved rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is inscribed with a quote, “Try to practice how to feel sad without actually being sad.” Under the quote, it reads, “Mingyur Rinpoche, born in 1975.”

Frontal view of a small, engraved rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque has three lines that read: “Writer, Activist James Baldwin: Spirituality and humanity.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “JUDITH BERNSTEIN, 1942, ME TOO - I HEAR YOU”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “Casper Rappaport. Sells Life Insurance. Tucumari, New Mexico.

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is four lines that read, “An Artist, A Prayerful Woman, A Maker of Radiant Things. Arlene Burke-Morgan. 1950 - 2017. Mother, Sister, Wife and Confidant.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque has three lines that read: “BARNETT NEWMAN. JAN 29, 1905 - JUL 4, 1970. Artist & Thinker. - David Diao.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque has three lines that read, “Puerto Rico 1989-2018. ‘I have lived in the monster and I know its entrails’ José Martí.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque has three lines that read, “Arthur Mandelbaum. Nyingmapa Buddhist Secret Yogi. EATING THE SKY.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Allan Sekula. 1951-2013. ‘Seeing Against The Grain.’”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “PAT HEARN and COLIN DE LAND. R.I.P. 2000 and 2003.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Zora Neale Hurston. Writer Folklorist. ‘She knew because she looked.’”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Frank O’ Hara. 1926-1966. ‘Grace to be born and live as variously as possible.’”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “Mr. Apology. Allan Bridge. 1945-1995. ‘It is to people that you must apologize, not to the state, not to God.’

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with two lines that read, “To my crush - Maggie Lee.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Immense Heart, Deep Sight, Beloved. Mieke van Hoek. 4.18.1946 - 11.13.2002.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with five lines that read, “‘Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.’ - John Lennon. See you whenever, yoko.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Dedicated to Constance Cockfield in honor of my mother.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with six lines that read, “Gustave Flaubert. 12 December 1821, Rouen, France. died 9 May 1880, Croisset, France. ‘I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under yellow leaves, and I was the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words exchanged and the red sun that made my people half-close their love-drowned eyes.’”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Veralyn Behenna. Artist Writer Friend. 1964 - 2015.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “ALICE COLTRANE. 1937-2007. INFINITELY HUMMING ALONG WITH THE UNIVERSE.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “david antin. Poet - Mentor - Friend - Foe. martha rosler.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “The Women. dedicated to: Sandra, Pearl, Estelle, Bell, Idella, Tiny.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “HENRI - ROBERT - MARCEL DUCHAMP. 28 JULY 1887 - 2 OCTOBER 1968. THE CHILD WHOSE HEAD IS A HOT BREATH OF FLESH AND DISLIKES CAULIFLOWER SHAKE HOT.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “Martha Ann Jarmon. 1933-2015. a womanist by her actions, before it had a name.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “LAWRENCE & ALICE WEINER. IN MEMORIAM MICHAEL H. SHAMBERG. 10.27.52 - 11.1.14.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Fay Chiang. January 27, 1952 - October 20, 2017. New York City born and raised poet, artist, and activist.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Tony Feher. Artist. 1956- 2016.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “Beauford Delaney. Artist. Visionary. Expatriate. December 30, 1901 - March 26, 1979.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with four lines that read, “QUENTIN CRISP. 1908 - 1999. Writer, Raconteur, Actor. ‘If at first you don’t succeed, failure may be your style.’”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “MAYA DEREN. filmmaker / anthropologist. 61 Morton Street.”

Frontal view of a small rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque is engraved with three lines that read, “LIFE IS A BANQUET. AUNTIE MAME. DON’T STARVE TO DEATH.”

Frontal view of a small, engraved rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “The New York Artist’s Memorial Garden.”

Frontal view of a small, engraved rectangular silver plaque on a wood bench. The plaque reads, “Presented by Art Production Fund & White Columns.”

Dedicated by Hilton Als

Dedicated by Laurie Anderson

Dedicated by Michel Auder

Dedicated by Judith Bernstein

Dedicated by Barbara Bloom

Dedicated by Mike Cloud

Dedicated by David Diao

Dedicated by Rafael Ferrer

Dedicated by John Giorno

Dedicated by Hans Haacke

Dedicated by K8 Hardy

Dedicated by Rachel Harrison

Dedicated by Mary Heilmann

Dedicated by Joan Jonas

Dedicated by Alex Katz

Dedicated by Liz Magic Laser

Dedicated by Maggie Lee

Dedicated by Meredith Monk

Dedicated by Yoko Ono

Dedicated by Adam Pendleton

Dedicated by Elizabeth Peyton

Dedicated by Jack Pierson

Dedicated by Jessi Reaves

Dedicated by Martha Rosler

Dedicated by Diamond Stingily

Dedicated by Rirkrit Tiravanija

Dedicated by Jessica Vaughn

Dedicated by Lawrence Weiner

Dedicated by Margaret Lee

Dedicated by Zoe Leonard

Dedicated by Glenn Ligon

Dedicated by McDermott McGough

Dedicated by Jonas Mekas

Dedicated by T.J. Wilcox

The New York Artists’ Memorial Garden is a collaborative project created for Jackson Square, set in a neighborhood that has a long-standing history with New York’s arts communities. The thirty-four participating artists were each invited to dedicate a park bench to an individual or an entity that is significant to them, creating a public space for reflection and contemplation.

Based on a curatorial initiative of White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs and Co-Presented by Art Production Fund, The New York Artists’ Memorial Garden is an extension of NYC Parks’ existing “Adopt-A-Bench” program that allows individuals to create a personal memorial for a loved one in a public space, through the dedication of a park bench.

“The New York Artists’ Memorial Garden” subtly transforms an existing public park into a collaborative public artwork, one that celebrates the lives of an extraordinary group of people—from James Baldwin to Maya Deren, and Alice Coltrane to Linda Nochlin—who have, in turn, inspired an extraordinary, and inter-generational group of contemporary artists.

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Dedicated by	Dedicated to
Hilton Als	Kevin Ward Robbins
Laurie Anderson	Mingyur Rinpoche
Michel Auder	James Baldwin
Judith Bernstein	Judith Bernstein
Barbara Bloom	Casper Rappaport
Mike Cloud	Arlene Burke-Morgan
David Diao	Barnett Newman
Rafael Ferrer	Puerto Rico
John Giorno	Arthur Mandelbaum
Hans Haacke	Allan Sekula
K8 Hardy	Shannon Michael Cane
Rachel Harrison	Linda Nochlin
Mary Heilmann	Pat Hearn and Colin De Land
Joan Jonas	Zora Neale Hurston
Alex Katz	Frank O’Hara
Liz Magic Laser	Allan Bridge
Maggie Lee	To my crush
Margaret Lee	Fay Chiang
Zoe Leonard	Tony Feher
Glenn Ligon	Beauford Delaney
McDermott McGough	Quenton Crisp
Jonas Mekas	Maya Deren
Meredith Monk	Mieke van Hoek
Yoko Ono	John Lennon
Adam Pendleton	Constance Cockfield
Elizabeth Peyton	Gustave Flaubert
Jack Pierson	Veralyn Behenna
Jessi Reaves	Alice Coltrane
Martha Rosler	David Antin
Diamond Stingily	The Women
Rirkrit Tiravanija	Henri Robert Marcel Duchamp
Jessica Vaughn	Martha Ann Jarmon
Lawrence Weiner	Michael H. Shamberg
T.J. Wilcox	Auntie Mame

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The New York Artists’ Memorial Garden

Dedicated by

Dedicated to