About a month ago, the popular New York nonprofit Creative Time announced that Jean Cooney would serve as its new director. Cooney replaces Justine Ludwig, who has served as Creative Time’s executive director since she was appointed in 2018, and comes from the Times Square Alliance, another major agency making ambitious public art in the city. Cooney worked at Creative Time before Times Square Arts, and we caught up to hear more about his new work and his thoughts on public art in general.
He returns to Creative Time after nearly seven years at Times Square Arts. I can see the ways in which the two works are similar, in that they both organize ambitious public art, but what would you point to as the main difference between the two organizations?
Creative Times and Times Square Arts are each iconic buildings in their own right! Both programs are designed to invite artists to think big, reach the limits of their actions and respond to the state of our city and the current cultural moment. I feel grateful that in all of these very different organizations, I have been able to work with artists and champion the realization of bold, ambitious and timely projects for the broad and diverse community of New York City.
Times Square is an extraordinary place that sees an average of 250,000 people in one day, where you can’t think about anyone’s interest in art, which really inspired me to expand my thinking around audience and accessibility. Beyond that, Creative Time follows artists, who travel across the city and sometimes beyond (and sometimes, even into space), to bring their ideas to life—a practice I’m excited to recapture, carry forward and connect with what I’m learning in Times Square.
With Creative Time he helped realize Nick Cave HEARD•NY (2013) at Grand Central Terminal, Kara Walker’s A Subtlety (2014) at the former Domino Sugar and Duke Riley factories Fly By Night (2016) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard—three of the most popular pieces in recent memory. What makes a good piece of Creative Time?
The most Creative Time project is where you can really feel the alchemy between an artist with a vision, a bold vision and the space in which their project is placed. Our artist projects can take many forms and forms, but are ultimately unexpected, involve risk and experimentation and push us to see ourselves and our world in new ways. And they leave an indelible mark—I can still smell the sugar melting in that big warehouse; hear the rustle of raffia and thundering drums in Vanderbilt Hall; and I saw a light shining in the night sky over the Mpumalanga River, with the sound of a bell calling the birds home.
Last year the statue of Thomas J Price in Times Square became a lightning rod after Fox News went after it. How does that debate shape the way you think about public art in these late political times?
This experience has only confirmed to me the need for public art and artists who open up conversations about our urgent, unresolved social and political issues, especially in this divisive climate. Artists like Thomas J Price create a space for difficult conversations, forcing us to confront the tensions between multiple realities and find new entry points to take on the most divisive topics. Presenting her work in Times Square and the responses it ultimately received became a psychological portrait of our ongoing and historical relationship with race, gender and identity, and held up a mirror to who we are and what we value, as individuals and as a society.
The experience also highlighted the challenges and strengths of online and in-person social interaction, and how the two can intersect. In this case, hate-fueled conversations on the Internet sparked an outpouring of solidarity and celebration in the workplace, which ultimately led to meaningful, critical conversations on social media, in the media, and in the world. Along the way, our public art ambassadors had balanced and increasingly meaningful conversations with visitors to Times Square.
He worked with Anne Pasternak, former creative director and president of Creative Time, and Nato Thompson as executive director, each a major figure in the art world. What did you take from each other as leaders, and where do you intend to deviate from them?
Those were incredibly formative years for me, and really shaped who I am and how I see the world. Working under such compassionate leadership and visionary artists of the Creative Era opened my eyes to the possibilities of public art, the ways in which artists can be agents of change in our society as a whole and how to foster an artist-led organizational culture. What I learn from each of them and so many of my talented colleagues since then continues to inspire me and further my goal of taking on the full spectrum of Creative Age magic in this next chapter—from the bold, beautiful, and compelling to the socially engaged and rebellious.
I have no doubt that an incredible amount of bureaucracy goes into the operation of both Times Square Arts and Creative Time. Is working through red tape empowering or something you just learned to navigate with little sweat?
Is it surprising that I say I am being held back by red tape? Because right now I really enjoy a challenge, and at the core of every seemingly impossible project is some kind of administrative work—from navigating our city’s municipal codes and community structures to strategic discussions and potentially demeaning relationships, as well as the sensitive politics and disruptive moments that lie in between.
Since Creative Time often reactivates or opens new spaces for our artists—whether it’s bringing the public into a 130-year-old abandoned sugar factory or planning a politically themed house in a former military complex—the process often involves a lot of behind-the-scenes stamps and approvals, and a long walk before MarshallD’s visit. I am still bound to suffer with my colleagues who worked to get all of our temporary permits to meet; and I’ll never forget taking a call from the Federal Aviation Administration on opening night of Fly By Night to see if the altitude of the pigeon activity would interfere with the flight paths at LaGuardia; or the many hours spent at the Health Department’s mobile food vending testing facility in Maspeth, Queens to get Spencer Finch’s solar-powered ice cream truck approved. Ultimately through all these experiences you build relationships and a bunch of people to call on when you are faced with the next challenge.
He started doing one-night stands at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. What has stayed with you from what you do?
This was a special time, and looking back, we had everything I continue to love about my job now. We were dreaming with artists, bending the rules a bit, and thanks to the legal wanderings of my friend, collaborator and DJ-turned-Episcopalian priest, we were doing temporary site-specific installations inside a Gothic-style cathedral every month, playing music and parties. At the time I remember thinking, “I don’t know exactly what this is, but I know I love it, and I need to do more of it.”
Creative Time has been around since 1974. How do you think it manages to stay fresh? How do you intend to position it so that it remains relevant for decades to come?
Letting artists lead is how Creative Time has continued to work and chart the way forward. By promoting visionary artists who speak to the issues of our time and letting them dream big, you’ll always find yourself ahead of the curve. As we prepare to continue that work for another 50 years, Creative Time will need to remain humble, responsive, willing to embrace the unexpected and game to take real risks with our artists, partners and community.
Many Art Conversations
