To the People of Orlando

In 2008, John Ensor Parker completed an outdoor, site-specific installation in downtown Orlando, Florida, entitled To the People of Orlando.

The piece consists of fourteen 20’ x 5’ aluminum panels mounted on aluminum framing on three sides of an architectural structure. The collection of panels on each side create a movement, and the piece is composed of three movements, facing three different streets. The three movements represent the past, present and future, respectively, and have individual titles which are written--albeit partially obscured--on the faces. It is impossible to view all three movements in full from a single location. Thus, the piece directs the viewer to move around the block in order to follow the composition.

Structurally, the piece pays homage to To the People of New York City, by German-born artist Blinky Palermo (d. 1977). Palermo, who studied under Joseph Beuys, was a colleague of Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter, and a pioneer in large-scale architectural aluminum paintings. Parker felt a strong relationship to Palermo's method, typified by orderly unions of color and shape clearly defined by a formal line. Parker refers to Palermo's technique as color-meets-line.

Conceptually, To the People of Orlando is an extension of a body of work that Parker calls geometric expressionism, in which geometric form is utilized to represent entities. Parker calls attention to particular entities with hand-brushed borders, and employs scientific notation to expound his analytical and critical approach. Each entity is unique in expression, shape, and color, and they move from panel to panel, and from movement to movement. The result enlists complex mathematical, physical science, electrical and mechanical schematics, and scientific derivations relating to energy and force to realize a natural, primitive and instinctive representation.

This juxtaposition is intended to create a balanced perspective for the viewer; to harmonize the experience of both heart and head. Parker's technique acknowledges and celebrates the primitive intent and natural reaction that forms the foundation of the complex human evolutionary process, and recognizes that learned analytical behavior--intelligence and critical thinking--is only the end result of that process. 

To the People of Orlando was commissioned by Argentina-based property developer, Real Estate Inverlad N.A., for installation on a fourteen-story condominium building unveiled at 101 Eola in February, 2008.