Several kids test the sturdiness of a di Suvero

Kids get it. While the adults stand around discussing the merits and aspirations of a large sculpture or installation, kids climb all over it. A few years back, when Richard Serra‘s Intersections II was installed in MoMA’s sculpture garden, toddlers raced between the tilted arcs in a game of hide and seek. More recently, kids playing around Situ Studio‘s reOrder installation have turned the Great Hall of the Brooklyn Museum into Romper Room. Now, with Storm King bringing in Mark di Suvero sculptures and Figment in town to install their annual golf course and sculpture garden, Governors Island is getting its workout.

"Becky's Dream Catchter" by Mike Maung.

On Memorial Day weekend some of the artists creating the “Bugs and Features” golf course were still working out some of the kinks with their designs. While many of them addressed the issues of hot sun and island winds, they didn’t quite account for the destructive nature of children. Dee Dee Maucher stood quietly pondering her installation, trying to figure out what would make it more kid proof. Two days in and her segment in the the golf course, titled The Composting Micro Bug Food Spiral, was in need repair.

Michael Loverich of Bittertang mulled over how to keep the kids from climbing atop Burble Bup, this year’s winner of the City of Dreams Pavilion, sponsored in part by the Emerging New York Architect committee of the AIANY and the Structural Engineers Association of New York.

“We don’t want the kids, or even adults, to come in and kick it,” said Loverich. “We kind of knew that people would be interacting with it, but not so aggressively.” Loverich said that he and his partner Antonio Torres were considering installing some preventative climbing measures.

Rendering of Burple Bup by Bittertang

Bubble Bup under construction