Deborah Kass's OY/YO Sculpture Installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park Through August 2016

Deborah Kass's eight-foot-high aluminum sculpture OY/YO has been installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park's DUMBO area, commissioned by Two Trees Management Company. The bright yellow typographically symmetrical letters can be read differently depending on orientation—as "OY" from Manhattan or "YO" from Brooklyn—creating a playful commentary on multiculturalism and borough dynamics. The work references both Robert Indiana's LOVE and Ed Ruscha's OOF while recalling Kass's earlier Jewish feminist deconstructions of Warhol. It also responds to Brooklyn's lost Domino sign and Queens' repositioned "Pepsi" sign. The sculpture functions simultaneously as art historical appropriation for insiders and accessible public art for park visitors and bridge commuters. OY/YO will remain on view through August 2016, serving as a graphic representation of gentrified urban spaces. David Cohen reviewed the work for artcritical, noting its layered meanings without patronizing any audience.