Times Square Valentine Heart Unveiled

John Hill

7. February 2017

All photographs by John Hill/World-Architects

The Times Square Alliance's ninth annual Times Square Valentine Heart was unveiled this morning during a rainy ceremony. The Office for Creative Research's We Were Strangers Once Too is billed as "a public data sculpture highlighting the role that immigrants have played in the founding, development, and continued vibrancy of New York City."

Located on Father Duffy Square, next to the TKTS steps, We Were Strangers Once Too is a layered installation that can be grasped in different ways from different points of view. Stepping onto the heart-shaped decal on the ground reveals the heart-shaped view at top, but from other angles the installation looks like a random jumble of black rods with strips of red and pink. (The photos below give a counterclockwise tour around the installation, which will be on display for approximately one month.) Up close, the painted strips of different heights reveal the names of countries with numbers, each referring to the number of immigrants living in New York City in 2015, while the shades of color indicate the growth or decline of those country's immigrants in the city from 2010 to 2015. The installation is data visualized, but with the goal of embracing diversity and loving our fellow human beings, no matter where they come from.