UK group 14-18 Now is behind five years’ worth of arts commissions honoring the First World War centenary, including projects bringing new “dazzle ships” to life.
“Dazzle” refers to a camouflage technique used on hundreds of ships during the First World War; the experimental approach, explains 14-18 Now, was pioneered by British artist Norman Wilkinson and drew on avant-garde artistic movements and animal prints to create designs that would confound the enemy.
The latest ship in the centenary project, a joint effort between New York’s Public Art Fund and 14-18 Now, is the first such commemorative dazzle ship to appear Stateside and the final vessel in the series.
Among the other dazzle ships to have been commissioned, one other is now in operation, shuttling passengers on the river Mersey in Liverpool.
Revealed this week in New York, artist Tauba Auerbach’s “Flow Seperation” remade the historic fireboat “John J. Harvey,” which launched in 1931, served New York Harbor through 1994 and was brought back into service to pump water and evacuate people in September 11, 2001.
Auerbach’s ship is viewable as of July 1; beginning July 14 and through September 23, it will take on passengers for rides around the Harbor every Saturday and Sunday. While most rides are fully booked, Public Art Fund will release tickets for later this summer in the coming weeks. Visitors can also hop aboard the boat on the weekends without a reservation.
It will remain on view through May 12, after which the boat will be restored to its original paint pattern.
The artist behind the iconic cover of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was co-commissioned by 14-18 Now, Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool to “dazzle” the Mersey Ferry known as “Snowdrop” in 2015.
The first of the Dazzle Ship commissions to be a working vessel, it is used for a commuter service as well as two river cruises. Aboard, you can learn more about dazzle history and Mersey Ferries’ role in the War.
Peter Blake’s “Dazzle Ferry” will be operated through January 2019.