Eric Forman Studio

Manhattan’s verticality has shaped the image of the city. This project emphasizes the importance of the horizontal Manhattan, the public floor of the city. Chaotic, crowded and noisy, it’s the part of New York that we have learned to cherish the most. Its greatest asset is the freedom to be ourselves amongst others who are different than us. We imagine Heart Squared as an amplifier of this togetherness.

Heart Squared is designed as a balancing act between structure and air, buildings and sky, people and city, movement and slowness. We hope this work encourages people to share space with each other, to see each other in the work, and even to help each other find the sweet spot where the heart is revealed. Times Square is one of the most dynamic public spaces in the world, and this artwork celebrates its energetic environment. Yet the more viewers slow down as they move around the installation, the more they discover.

The mirrored pixel effect is accomplished by computationally aligning each reflection to a specific spot in the environment. The mirrors inside the heart shape reflect people, buildings, and billboards, while the mirrors around the heart reflect only the sky. They sky is the last thing one expects to find in Times Square, yet even in one of the densest urban spaces in the world, it is possible to connect to nature.

We developed custom parametric software to determine the two axes of rotation for each mirror, such that it would reflect a chosen point in three dimensional space only when viewed from the sweet spot. Our software then outputted these angles for fabrication, and each was set with a locking ball joint. The mirrors can be adjusted on site as needed, as well as be re-calibrated for new locations, forming a new site specific installation in response to that landscape.

Heart Squared always reflects more than any one viewer finding him or herself within it. It brings people together to discover the heart within — a heart that reflects anyone and everyone who engages with it. Strangers share this experience together. Its colors and composition change as the sun rises and sets, as billboards illuminate and screens shift, and as thousands of people pass through the space. Heart Squared celebrates the essential New York — bringing together people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and walks of life. Heart Squared represents the collective heart of the city and as such, is a directly engaging civic statement about celebrating our differences and bringing people together.