When The Girl Puzzle opened in December 2021, the whole world of art was watching. It’s precipitous fall from grace in less than a year surprised everyone, especially RIOC, it appears. But now, while experts search for answers, the work of art in Lighthouse Park may be saved from ruin.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
After the ribbon-cutting for The Girl Puzzle and after the news stories faded into the bowels of the internet, everyone switched interests. It was winter. COVID made a comeback, but none of that justified the neglect.
By summer, the grounds around the series of sculptures honoring Nellie Bly were weedy and unkempt, but look at the surface of the foundations. The concrete never cured properly, and it was deteriorating.
Adding to concerns was RIOC’s failure to fix, address or explain the problems. Deep in bunker mode, they let the ruin ripen. A series of article on the state of The Girl Puzzle and Lighthouse Park in general showed that the floundering state agency couldn’t be shamed into action.
Deterioration continued until last year when futile attempts at repairs failed.
Have the Tables Turned for The Girl Puzzle?
“We’ve made a couple of attempts to fix the issue,” RIOC Director of Communications Bryant Daniels told The Daily, earlier this week, “but the solutions so far have not been adequate or up to the standards we think are acceptable for such a remarkable piece of art.”
Under interim executive management, RIOC was finally turning on the lights again, speaking openly. Last week, it was a topic of intense discussion during the REDAC meeting.
After months of frustration, Amanda Matthews – the artist who created The Girl Puzzle – was happily relieved. “I cannot express how delighted I am to have an open line of communication with RIOC,” she said in an email.
“The site needs to be cleaned up and the plastic and blue tape removed so it is not an eyesore while waiting for the weather to break and continue the repairs.
“However, late Friday afternoon, I heard back from RIOC and they expressed a desire to focus on more communication with me about the monument as well as consider alternative options for the repairs/upgrades.
“Some of the options being considered are very exciting and I hope to work in coordination with Bryant Daniels and the new interim folks to move forward on this as soon as possible.”
Finally…
A look at the joy with which The Girl Puzzle was received back on December 10th 2021 reminds us of the heights it can reach again.
Daniels wrote in an email, “Currently, the monument remains cordoned off for safety purposes because the last attempted fix left a top layer of brittle cement.
“As we seek a permanent fix, we really want to make sure that our next move gets it right. Any cement work we end up scheduling will have to wait for the warmer months anyway, so in the meantime we’ll continue to work with Amanda Matthews, LIRO, and other stakeholders on determining the best long-term course of action.”
“I want them to be enthusiastic about the incredible reception The Girl Puzzle received from people all over the world,” Matthews added.
We may finally be getting there.
A Different Kind of Bet
For years, Roosevelt Island did not behave like a system constrained by limits. Internally, the budget was often treated less as a boundary and more as a reservoir to be used.
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