In 2011, when artist Tatiana Trouvé first came to New York to begin planning her first public commissioned piece in the United States, she was immediately inspired by the millions of pedestrians flooding the streets of the city. The people and pathways in Central Park particularly aroused her interest because “there’s no singular way to walk through the park, but rather a multitude of possible routes that may be followed according to our own desires.” With this in mind, she thought of the broader significance of walking. Her thoughts beset upon the many cultures and kinds of people walking has inspired, such as poets, writers, artists, and even politicians. A combination of these thoughts led to the completion of Trouvé’s Central Park installation, Desire Lines:
“Drawing on existing maps, Trouvé isolated all of the marked pathways in the park and estimated their distances. She identified 212, from secluded paths to prominent thoroughfares, ranging in length from around 60 feet to four miles. Translating her research into three-dimensional form, Trouvé created three large-scale storage racks that house a total of 212 spools. Each spool is wound with rope equivalent in length to a corresponding pathway and labeled to identify its location in the park.”
See Desire Lines in Central Park from March 3 – August 30, 2015, and read more about it here.