This top NYC summer activity has 700,000 balloons and amazing A/C: ‘The coolest place in the city’
It’s pop art.
Balloon Story, an immersive art exhibit of sculptures made from 700,000 balloons, has blown up at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side.
More than 200 artists from around the world worked on the show, creating 140 inflated sculptures spread throughout the 55,000-square-foot space.
The adventure, which runs through August 24, begins with a giant, roaring lion with a moving mouth greeting guests and standing guard over a rain forest-themed ball pit.
From
there, exhibition-goers take a soaring journey through various natural environments — including an ocean wonderland and an outer space scene with a 39-foot-tall spaceship, the show’s tallest piece.
The experience ends with rubber recreations of major landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower and Egyptian pyramids.
“It’s supposed to tell a story. You’re going from the jungle, to under the sea and to the arctic and you end in the [urban] world at the monuments,” Yonatan Eizik, the curator for Balloon Story, told The Post.
No surprise, the exhibit, which took six months to make and uses both ball-shaped balloons and the tubular type known as modeling balloons, has been a hit with local families.
(Artists are on-site for repairs should kids accidentally pop anything. Kobi Kalimian, art director at Balloon Story, told The Post that there have been at least three incidents since the show opened on July 2.)
But, there’s also plenty for adults to enjoy.
“We didn’t want the sculptures to be cartoon caricatures that only appeal to kids. We wanted them to have a real-life, artistic element,” Eizik said, noting that they recently had a man propose to his girlfriend at the show, bending down on one knee with a balloon engagement ring at the Eiffel Tower.
Something else that should appeal to all ages: Powerful air conditioning.
The Armory is kept at a crisp 69 degrees to keep the balloons from deflating.
“It’s very nice for the New Yorkers who are hot,” Eizik joked. “This is the coolest place in the city.”
Roaring lion
Number of balloons: 8,000
Time it took to make: Five artists working for four days
The most challenging part of constructing this blown-up beast was the mouth, according to Kalimian. Artists used special cone-shaped, miniature modeling balloons, each 15-inches long, for the fangs. The rubber chompers had to be positioned just right, so as not to pop each other as the lion’s motorized mouth opens and closes.
“It’s a lot of physics,” Kalimian said.
Sphinx and Egyptian Pyramids:
Number of balloons: 10,000
Time it took to make: Six artists working for two days
Crafting the shape of the 8-foot tall Great Sphinx was tricky.
“We took a real, three-dimensional picture of a sphinx. We did a sketch of the framing and then covered it with the right balloons to make the shape of it,” Kalimian explained.
Under the Sea-scape
Number of Balloons: 80,000 balloons
Time it took to make: 200 artists working for nine days.
Just the tunnel of water in the ocean demanded 34,000 balloons, in various shades of blue, from pale to navy, to give dimension.
A giant orange octopus made with 50,000 balloons has eight moving tentacles and notable eyes.
“They’re clear balloons with a white, blue and black balloon inside of it,” Kalimian said.
Bald Eagle
Number of Balloons: 12,000
Time it took to make: 13 artists working for four days
A 15-pound patriotic bird soars over the entrance and exit. His 23-foot-wide blue wings are embedded with 50 6-inch white stars and festooned with red and white feathers.
Kalimian knew he wanted a piece that celebrated America but he wanted something unique.
“I thought about making the American flag, but It was too simple,” he said.
Tickets from $26.90 for children and $33.90 for adults at BalloonStory.com, kids under 4 are free; 643 Park Ave., Upper East Side.
