Harris' sculptures are situated in the streets of New York City and they call attention to its inner-workings. The sculptures inflate using air that escapes through the subway vents when trains pass by underneath the streets. The subway vents funnel the air into the sculptures much like a person's mouth pushes breath into a balloon from the lungs. The city has insides (subway systems, garbage collection, electrical and water systems) and is connected to form a functioning unit much like the human body itself. A person's breath is often equated to their life force, or something very personal since it comes from within. The city imparts the subway air to the sculptures and creates creatures born from the city's energy. Connotations or sentiments the observer ties to the city are thus associated with the city that bore them, the source of their animation. The mind is forced to trace back the origin of the air used in the artwork, through the city's body. The artwork, through this provoked thought process, forces the viewer to think of the space around them, the city, in a new way. 

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Approach this essay as if you are a wanderer in the streets of New York.

You may think you know what you are looking for, but stay open to making connections and observations that you wouldn't have otherwise anticipated. Attempt to approach the essay without a set in stone stance similar to "I like this art," "I buy the argument" or "I don't buy the argument." Even if you don't subscribe to my interpretation of the sculptures, I hope that you discover your own view.

Watch videos as directed if instructions are offered, and feel free to follow links to other pages. The links to other pages will only enhance your experience. Think of these as peering off down an empty alley, or squatting down on the side of the street to read a scrap of paper.

Happy wandering!