The Carousel
I used to love spinning rides when I was a child and teenager, and now they make me nauseous! At the Prospect Park Carousel in Brooklyn, I would often take my daughter, and the same operators would say hello and give us some extra turns on the ride. I would grin and bear it, as she would ride the largest horses, close her eyes, and pretend to fly to the clouds!
After my son was born, we came a few times again, but my son had a different opinion about the ride. He liked to sit in the sleigh and grip himself until the ride was over. Eventually, they both seemed to be happy with one riding the carousel while the other ran around with a ball on the nearby lawn!
In 2017, I participated in the Connective Project, to celebrate Prospect Park’s 150th Anniversary, organized by the Prospect Park Alliance and created by AREA4. The community was asked to submit artwork, photos, and memories of the park, and all submissions were printed and transformed into pinwheels, then designed in an organic layout throughout the park. I thought of the carousel, and what it meant to me, and I drew a few ideas. I created two digital composites and submitted those along with a photo of my daughter enjoying the ride. They can all be seen in this post, as well as an image by Amanda Gentile of the exhibition.
To learn more about the project, please visit connectiveproject.com.
The Connective Project, on view in the Prospect Park Rose Garden from July 7-17. Copyright Amanda Gentile https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
