'Giant Disco Man' Shines Again

Story by John Franklin

Walking through Adelphi’s campus, it's obvious the university doesn’t skimp on artwork. A walk from New Hall to the University Center alone is filled with many different pieces that are constantly changing every semester.

A giant statue outside the University Center, next to Levermore lawn, is one of the more peculiar pieces. Entitled “Giant Disco Man,” the sculpture by artist Anti Liu features a large man wearing headphones and sunglasses, while holding his belly. His shirt and pants are covered with shiny disco ball material that lights up the campus when the sun hits his body.

“Giant Disco Man” has spent many months covered up by a large green tarp.

“I really enjoyed the sculpture, but only got to see it a few times ever before I saw them covering it up,” said freshman Nate Huffman. “Hopefully with nice weather coming we’ll be able to see it again. I have friends that never even saw him once.”

Liu, a ceramics professor in the Klapper building, is a well known Taiwanese artist. She has created four pieces for Adelphi’s campus. “Sir Yes Sir!!” is arguably the most popular of them all.

“I knew that the sculpture was covered up,” said Liu. “It was because of Hurricane Isaac and then Sandy. The exhibition curator and I were going to unwrap it right after Hurricane Sandy, but we decided against it after a conversation about a married couple, artist Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who created environmental works of art. The concept of wrapped art is one of their contributions to the art world, and keeping the 'Giant Disco Man' wrapped was an onsite decision right after the conversation."

Eliz Alahverdian, Adelphi University’s director of exhibitions, added, “Initially, the sculpture was covered for Sandy, but Anti thought it looked amusing so it stayed on. We are planning an unveiling in a few weeks, once the weather gets warmer.”

That unveiling actually took place on Wednesday and “Giant Disco Man” graced the campus once again.

“I miss him too,” said Liu. “Figurative sculpture has always been my favorite, and the original idea is to make it blend in with the surrounding. The sculpture has to be surrounded by trees and all varieties of greens. The sunlight shooting through leaves bounce off the mirror surface. However, the result doesn’t always end up as planned. It ends up lighting up everything around it like a disco ball, and that’s how he got the name.”

To learn more about artist Anti Liu and the “Giant Disco Man,” visit www.antiliu.com.