Seeing Through the Layers of Time consists of oil-painted Dibond© panels of various sizes installed in the school auditorium of P.S. 58, a pre-K to 5th grade school, in Maspeth, NY. The side panels show an image timeline of American history including scenes that depict Pre-Columbian America, the Pilgrims, American Independence, the Westward Migration, the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement. At the front of the auditorium a faux-painted proscenium echoing the neighborhood architecture bracket the stage. To either side of the stage are panels depicting firefighters and emergency medical personnel on 9/11. Maspeth is the home of two fire stations including a Hazardous Material fire station. Many people who lived and worked in Maspeth died on the grounds of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the school, which was under construction at the time, was named The School of Heroes.
Commissioned by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art and the New York City School Construction Authority.
Installed: 2002
Fabricators: Amy Cheng, Jennifer Padilioni, Jacob Goble, Dennis Ryan, Gianna Delluomo.
Photographer: Hermann Feldhaus
