Monday, December 9, 2013, 5:30 PM
Queens Crossing Outdoor Plaza
136-17 39th Ave, New York, NY 11354

Since 2008, Queens Crossing Mall brought the community different kinds of Christmas art installation every year. It also becomes a tradition in Flushing area that the Christmas season will begin after the lighting ceremony of the Queens Crossing Christmas tree. This year, Queens Crossing and Crossing Art held the open call for the design of the Christmas installation and the artist Mark Salinas’s idea, X-mas X-ing, is selected among all submissions; he used his inspiration and imagination to put the road signs into 3D sculpture. On Dec. 9, Monday, the organizers will invite famous Taiwanese singers and local celebrities to join the lighting ceremony.

XMAS X-ING (Christmas Crossing) is a temporary outdoor holiday sculpture created by Mark Salinas based upon photography of pedestrian crosswalks and other road markings taken while walking in Queens. These flat, urban road markings will be translated and assembled into white, green, and red 3D structures revealing a surprising Christmas scenario of pine trees, a ladder, wreaths, ornament bulbs, and snowy picket fences. At its tallest point the structure will reach 20’.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Mark Salinas (b. 1973) is a Designer based in Sunnyside, New York. He received his BFA in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis, an AAS in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City, and his certificate in Tailoring from Central St. Martins in London. After 12 successful years in the Fine Art, Film, and Fashion industry, Salinas launched his own design and fabrication studio, Arrows Up, in 2007, specializing in retail window displays and marketing props. His roster of notable clients includes Adidas, Chanel, Macy’s, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and The National Kidney Foundation.

Even while designing for others, his Sunnyside studio is kept busy with community beautification efforts, artist residencies, and creative collaborations.
Salinas has been awarded a Queens Council on the Arts Visual Art Grant both in 2010 and 2013 for community beautification projects. ‘Partly Cloudy in Sunnyside’ recycled 300 discarded umbrellas, which were littering the neighborhood streets, into 300 re-usable tote bags filled with coupons and swag solicited from local business owners. ‘Rise-n-Shine’ was a community-supported mural done in collaboration with the Sunnyside/Woodside Boys & Girls Club aimed at eliminating graffiti on a problematic corner in the neighborhood. In 2011, he represented the USA at William Grant & Sons’ Glenfiddich Artist in Residency International Program in Dufftown, Scotland where he lived and worked upon the distillery ground for three months. These works resulted in a 2012 solo exhibit at Chambers Fine Arts gallery in New York City aptly named ‘NYC: Ceilidh’ and featured live Music, Sculpture, Costumes, Story-telling, and Performance Art inspired by life in the Highlands. Recently, Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris awarded Salinas with a 2014 Visual Arts Residency & Exhibition for his directorial debut of an evening-length dance production.

【紐約訊】自2008年以來與眾不同的大型聖誕藝術裝置已成為飛越皇后購物中心的傳統，為了讓社區朋友們又有不同的節日驚喜， Queens Crossing與旗下藝術組織Crossing Art今年特別舉辦了公開徵稿活動，最後由來自皇后區的藝術家馬克•薩理納(Mark Salinas)獲選設計今年的藝術作品，馬克將發揮創意與想像將他在皇后區行走時所見到的路標、指示牌與斑馬線等變成3D立體交疊的聖誕造型。12月9日(星期一)點燈儀式當天主辦單位將特別邀請成名於台灣「超級星光大道」節目的歌手黃美珍(Jane)、高以愛(Alisa)與創作歌手陳威全(V.C) 、羅文裕(Wing)到場共襄盛舉並為現場觀眾帶來歡樂的聖誕福音，飛越皇后底樓的珠寶名店區House of Eden也將於當晚重新開幕，迎接聖誕佳節來臨。

名為「X-MAS X-ING」的藝術作品由藝術家馬克•薩理納(Mark Salinas)創作，這項充滿創意的藝術作品從Crossing Art數十件的投稿作品中脫穎而出，馬克•薩理納於皇后區出生成長，其作品橫跨藝術、影片與時尚多領域，並在2007年創立專精櫥窗設計的Arrows Up工作室，曾為國際品牌香奈兒、愛迪達與Macy’s百貨等打造櫥窗擺飾。馬克將Queens Crossing的名稱「Crossing (發音同X-ing)」、馬路上的「X-ING」交叉路口標示與「X-MAS」聖誕節三者連結想像，將平面的路標、指示牌與斑馬線轉換為高達20英呎的3D立體裝置，並運用紅、綠、白等聖誕的代表色彩與燈飾讓這些指標彷彿聖誕樹與聖誕花環般地豎立在飛越皇后戶外廣場當中，這個交會的概念同時也象徵著皇后區多元文化交會與族群融合的特色。

點燈儀式將於12月9日(星期一)傍晚5:30登場，來自台灣「超級星光大道」節目的偶像歌手黃美珍、高以愛與創作歌手陳威全、羅文裕將受邀登台獻唱個人代表作品與聖誕佳音，黃美珍為星光二班成員，曾和賴銘偉合組「神木與瞳」樂團並隨後發行個人專輯，Alisa高以愛於星光大道踢館賽一戰成名，中美混血的亮麗外型與渾厚的嗓音也立即獲得歌迷們的注目。飛越皇后底樓的珠寶名店區House of Eden將於當晚同時開幕，Swarovski、Pandora與Crislu等多個時尚珠寶品牌都將推出聖誕限量的商品，當晚6至8點並將舉辦開幕酒會邀請民眾於點燈儀式後免費參加，詳細活動諮詢請洽詢718-713-0880。

⊙Lighting Ceremony 點燈儀式:
2013年12月9日 星期一 PM 5:30
Queens Crossing Outdoor Plaza飛越皇后購物中心 戶外廣場 (Paris Baguette外)
⊙House of Eden Opening Reception House of Eden開幕酒會:
2013年12月9日 星期一 PM 6:00-8:00
Queens Crossing Ground Floor飛越皇后購物中心底樓