The Avenue of Americas Association has opened Fantasy Landscapes, a large-scale, multi-site, public art installation by PlayLab, Inc. that will run through October 2019. The installations at locations along Sixth Avenue use the technique of classic movie backdrops to transport visitors to iconic natural sites from across Central and South America, serving as the perfect settings to take Instagram photos (#FantasyLandscapes) in the center of Midtown Manhattan.
Fantasy Landscapes, the second public art commission for PlayLab, Inc. from the Avenue of the Americas Association, is composed of four individual installations, each representing different Latin American natural wonders that have been backdrops in a variety of films and television shows.
The installations, hosted in collaboration with The Hippodrome, Silverstein Properties, Rockefeller Group and Mitsui Fudosan America at their respective properties, are at the following locations:
- 1120 Sixth Avenue (hosted by The Hippodrome) — Torres Del Paine
This national park in Chilean Patagonia encompasses mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers—and is famous for its mix of textures and colors created by a variety of geological elements - 1177 Sixth Avenue (hosted by Silverstein Properties) — Lake Atitlán
The deepest lake in Central America and located in Guatemala, this location is surrounded by three volcanoes, including San Pedro volcano, depicted in the installation - 1221 Sixth Avenue (hosted by Rockefeller Group) — Atacama Desert
This desert plateau covers a 600-mile strip of Pacific coast, west of the Andes, and is one of the driest places on Earth, making it the filming location for various scenes depicting Mars - 1251 Sixth Avenue (hosted by Mitsui Fudosan America) — Iguazu Falls
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest waterfall system in the world, the falls are nestled between the Brazilian and Argentine borders
On the July 22 opening day, guides were present at all four locations. Additionally, limited edition Fantasy Landscape T-shirts designed by PlayLab, Inc. were available for purchase from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the 1177 Sixth Avenue location. All proceeds will go to support Performa, a non-profit interdisciplinary arts organization established by curator and art historian RoseLee Goldberg in 2004.
