Homage to Medicare and Medicaid

There are two works in this commission: Life in the Community - East 100th Street and Homage to Medicare and Medicaid.

Life in the Community - East 100th Street is a series of 12 life-size figures located on a short retaining wall overlooking the natural landscape behind the HCFA Headquarters building. The models for this installation were people from the artists' East Harlem neighborhood who were selected specifically because of their connection to HCFA. Many residents of East Harlem are beneficiaries of HCFA's programs. Furthermore, for these individuals, being selected to be preserved in sculpture is an extremely significant and rewarding experience.

Homage to Medicare and Medicaid is a series of 10 life-size portrait busts located in the main lobby and also distributed throughout the building links. The titles of the individual busts are: Pablo, Felicia with Violin, Felipe and Booboo, Morris Toystore, Melissa Maycock, Dr. Tom and Robert T., Laughing Girls, Carmen with her Granddaughter, The Graduates, and Raul with Bust of Ruth Fernandez.

The busts are also life-casts of people from the artists' East Harlem neighborhood. The series is a modern interpretation of the classical portrait bust because the artists intended to illustrate both the diversity of the beneficiaries of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as focus on people from everyday walks of life.

Life in the Community - East 100th Street and Homage to Medicare and Medicaid represent a tradition of community art that John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres have been creating in East Harlem, New York City, since 1979. In this New York neighborhood where the collaborating artists work and live, Ahearn and Torres maintain storefront studios open to the life of the street. Their sculpture uses a life casting method, done publicly in the neighborhood as a shared social activity. This casting process requires trust and cooperation between the artists and the subjects. This exchange inspires the expression of the artwork.

Ahearn and Torres support a strong system of health care. This sculpture installation pays homage to the Health Care Financing Administration, by focusing on the humanity of its beneficiaries. Medicare and Medicaid is vitally important to the neighborhood where the artists work. By showcasing real people from one specific community, East Harlem, the artists hope to inspire others to support the health care system.