Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Division Street, Chinatown. New York, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Second Avenue, East Harlem. New York, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Avenue D, East Village. New York, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Avenue D, East Village. New York, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species E 96th Street, Canarsie. Brooklyn, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species East Broadway, Chinatown. New York,NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Quincy Street, South Beach. Staten Island, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species Forest Avenue, Port Richmond. Staten Island, NY Pigment print, 2000 78.5 x 100 cm
Solo exhibition Loud Silence. Kuntsi Museum for Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland 2013
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species
While visiting Staten Island, NY, in June 1999, Kaisu Koivisto investigated the history of the area. She heard that there still were cattle on Staten Island some decades ago. This inspired her to make a project about the development that has occurred; to trace if there are marks left of the numerous farms and pastures. Although Koivisto first focused on locations on Staten Island, she extended her interest to include all the five boroughs.
The starting point of this project has been the notion of change: the rapid changes that go on in the environment. All available land is taken into use – even areas, which were previously considered wasteland. Many of Koivisto’s photographs are of places that are in a state of flux.
For this project Kaisu Koivisto took cows back to the places that used to be farms or grazing land in the 19th century or as recently as a few decades ago. She made her cows out of old blankets bought at thrift stores. The blankets represent home and warmth. They also bring an element of humor: black and red plaid “cow skin rugs” look amusing. And, at the same time disturbing something from a private realm brought into a public space. The herd of blanket cows is homeless, displaced, in an urban environment. The surroundings are an important element in the photos.
In order to find the places where the farms used to be, Koivisto researched the archives of the Staten Island Institute, Staten Island Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, The Bronx Historical Society, Long Island Division of the Queens Borough Public Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library. Old maps and photographs were a useful resource. Comparing 19th and early 20th century maps with current maps showed the way how farmland has become residential areas.
Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species solo exhibitions: Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, New York; and Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland (2000), Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki (2001), E.Jaske Gallery,Sydney, Australia (2005)