Artist-in-Residence Carl Scorza is currently working on a city scape in charcoal

On a recent sunny September afternoon, Carl Scorza was hard at work on Governors Island. His tasks included riding the ferry across New York harbor, ambling through the shady, tree-lined walkways, and gazing out at Lower Manhattan and the East River bridges as boats cruised by.

It is a privileged job that nonetheless demands his expertise as Governors Island's official artist-in-residence.

Scorza, 57, earned the title by hatching the National Parks Service (NPS) Governors Island Artist-in-Residence Program in spring of this year, with the help of Linda Neal, the NPS's island superintendent. He came to Neal as an advocate of the arts, and to take advantage of the island's transitional status, which began in 2003 when the federal government handed it over to the NPS and the state's Governors Island Education and Preservation Corporation (GIPEC).

Since that change of ownership, its managers have been working on a general management plan (GMP) that makes the best use of the complete Governors Island National Monument. Until the GMP is finalized, three "preliminary alternatives" are under review to address historic preservation, visitor use, capacity, and development of the island's 172 acres -- each of them hinging on cultural expression.

Australian painter Elisabeth James captured the harbor in abstract

While each proposal may, of course, incorporate elements of another, one thing remains certain: The island's managers will employ the arts to share and cultivate its beauty, tranquility, and history.

For Scorza, the proposals exemplify the NPS's commitment to the arts. "The NPS appreciates the work [artists do] as another way to enjoy the park -- they're susceptible to the beauty of the island," he says, noting that the NPS runs many arts programs to enhance its monuments and parks.

Specifically on Governors Island, the Artist-in-Residence Program is a pilot that's shed new light on its history and unique geographical perspective through artistic interpretation. The program, offered in partnership with the New York Studio School's graduate program, has brought 15 to 20 painters at a time to the island for three-week stints all summer. Artists keep their supplies in vacant garages, join staff on the morning and afternoon ferry commutes from the Battery Maritime Building, and generally absorb the peaceful atmosphere.

The view of Lower Manhattan from Governors Island captivates artists

"Sometimes it's so amazing that you can't paint -- you just stand there in awe," says Scorza, a native New Yorker who himself focuses on land- and cityscape oil painting. "I like the city as an entity -- not a building by itself, but the whole city as a massive collection of human effort," he says.

Scorza compares his residency on the island to the year he spent occupying a studio high up in One World Trade Center (WTC) in 1997, through the "World Views" program, which he also helped foun, this time in partnership with the Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC). Similar to the Governors Island program of linking artists with spaces, World Views brought painters into vacant WTC studios, inspiring stunning visual portrayals of the city and region.

Teacher's Assistant Michael Meehan paints the Statue of Liberty

Through such collaborative programs between property owners and artists, Scorza says the benefits are endless. "I think that art is a basic human need," he says, admiring the works already decorating the NPS offices. "What's good for the arts is good for the city. There's a collective advantage. And parks are important for our national good -- art is a part of that."

To learn more about Governors Island National Monument visit the National Park Service website, or Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation.

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