Collective-LOK’s preparatory drawing of the Heart of Hearts installation | Artnet
If you like kissing strangers in public places for art’s sake, this is the exhibit for you. A ring of heart-shaped, mirrored booths will be installed in Times Square for Valentine’s Day. The exhibit, a sculptural piece called Heart of Hearts, will open on February 9th. The piece, created by Collective-LOK, is the winner of this year’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design campaign, established by the Center for Architecture.
Some of the hearts, about half, will create partially-closed kissing booths for visitors to explore. The booths “invite people in to create their own stories,” says Sherry Dobbin, director of the Times Square Arts program. And because it’s made of mirrors, the piece will make it look like there are many more people than there may be, reflecting the busyness of the city and perhaps the prevalence of love—while highlighting how difficult in can be to pin down.
Times Square’s Valentine’s displays have attracted a lot of people over the years and even proposals: in 2013, Situ Studio’s Heartwalk exhibit, made from boards salvaged from Hurricane Sandy debris, saw a number of people getting down on one knee. This year, Times Square Arts plans to hold a group wedding inside the art piece. Many couples are likely to get married there, as they’re scheduled to propose earlier in the day. There will also be a mass vow renewal later in the day!
Heart of Hearts is “an engagement ring for our love affair with the spectacle of Times Square,” says Collective-LOK. “Times Square is the heart of New York City—a blur of bright lights and billboards, noise, steam, passion and possibilities…It is a spectacle made manifest, day and night. For Valentine’s Day we offer the Heart of Hearts, a space for both intimacy and performance within this spectacular atmosphere.”
The installation will run until March 6th and can be found at Father Duffy Square between 46th and 47th Streets.