NYC Waterfalls

eggcream · June 2008

Danish artist's waterfalls grace New York's East River

6 hours ago

NEW YORK (AFP) — New York on Thursday inaugurated its latest open air art installation: four giant waterfalls along the East River by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.

Four metal structures pump river water some 30 meters (90 feet) into the air, where it falls freely in liquid curtains 10 to 20 meters (30 to 60 feet) wide.

"It's about time and experiencing space," Eliasson, 41, said of his creation.

"Water has great potential to be both physical and very elusive, it can be many different things for many different people," he told AFP.

The four waterfalls are located on Governor's Island, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and on two piers. They are visible by day through October 13 from both the Manhattan and Brooklyn sides of the East River.

"The waterfalls are an unbelievable sight. What a beautiful symbol of the energy and vitality that we are bringing back to our waterfront," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the inauguration ceremony.

Born in Copenhagen in 1967, Eliasson was raised in Denmark and Iceland -- he is a dual citizen of the two countries -- and divides his time between Berlin and his native city.

Thirty architects, engineers and craftsmen work in his studio, experimenting with installation, sculpture and other large scale projects.

Eliasson believes his waterfalls are enhanced by different kinds of weather.

"I think it's really beautiful if the wind carries the water away," he said.

"Falling water has the ability to show the weather, it shows a lot of things about the wind, the sound, all the senses, not just the eyes," he said.

New York's last major installation was Christo's "The Gates" in February 2005. It featured thousands of orange metal frames draped with saffron fabric along 23 miles (37 kilometers) of Central Park's pathways.

"The Gates" brought 254 million dollars to the New York economy, city officials said.

The 15.5 million dollar waterfall installation was privately financed. Organizers hope it will bring some 55 million fresh tourist dollars to the city.

Special boat tours have been organized and the city has created special pedestrian and bicycle paths for observing the waterfalls.

"During 'The Gates,' hot dogs vendors in Central Park had the biggest smile of any capitalist in the world! I can tell you the restaurant owner near the Brooklyn Bridge is going to a have a fantastic summer!" Bloomberg enthused.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i47flFLLXctuWhmEAECNWxtjv-jw

hamilton · June 2008

My question is , how many toilets in Brooklyn have to be flushed at the same time to maintain that effect?

raw · June 2008

Water falls in New York City are not amazing. Free access to clean bathrooms throughout New York City would be AMAZING!!!

livetotravel · June 2008

OK I saw 2 of them - meh! Probably guys who like engineering projects and Erector Sets will like it, but this ain't art.

rtraindweller · June 2008

Livetotravel wrote: OK I saw 2 of them - meh! Probably guys who like engineering projects and Erector Sets will like it, but this ain't art.

Seriously! I saw the one at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge this morning on the subway. And all I thought was "that's it?". It's a metal structure placed rather far from the bridge's base with water falling from the top of it. And that's neat becauuuuuuuse? I figured they'd put some faux plant life or some fake rock formations so it'd look someone like a natural water fall or something. But this is just kinda lame.

ahab · June 2008

I'ma go off one in a barrel.

vinze · June 2008

They should have been 100ft taller and placed further out and in much deeper waters, like 300ft deep.

MOD · June 2008

Hamilton, raw and ahab: you all just made my morning that was hilarious.

t-fal · June 2008

Well I for one welcome our new aquatic overlords...

I really like them. I grew up within a couple of hours drive to Niagara Falls, so I used to go there a lot. I've always felt as if there's somethinng crazy hypnotic about watching any amount of water careen off a precipice. I could sit and be entertained for hours. The way the patterns change and stay the same... I may sound like a geek, but there's something so awe inspiring about the way that fluids behave.

jane_birkin · June 2008

yeah, i had been told that they "look like real waterfalls" but really they just look like tall fountains. big whoop.

drunken revival · June 2008

This board really likes to hear itself talk. I don't see anyone of you building a waterfall.... What I do see is a lot of people on this board pissing on anything within striking distances.

It's cool. It's just a message board and that is what it's for, but maybe it could be a little something more. What do you think?

jamzer · June 2008

I like them. Saw one from the train this morning and it made me smile. Creative and original in my mind. I'm looking forward to taking the water taxi to see them up close this weekend.

sweet tea · June 2008

i'm excited to see them.

i'm pretty glad there's not going to be faux nature-y junk on them.

and i'm pretty glad they're not in 300' water, since they'd be way too far to see.

niner · June 2008

I thought The Gates sucked, but these make The Gates look like a work of genius. The waterfalls arent: aesthetically pleasing, architecturally accomplished, or convincing. Not to mention perhaps they should have looked a bit harder for an American artist, since any single, or group, of artists could have used that income. One thing is for sure however, MoMA has quiet the hard-on for Eliasson these days.

$15.5 million could have been spent in better ways for the city and public art.

daver · June 2008

Drunken Revival wrote: This board really likes to hear itself talk. I don't see anyone of you building a waterfall.... What I do see is a lot of people on this board pissing on anything within striking distances.

Dude, you must have _quite_ the pisser if you can reach them. Besides, there are all sorts of things that I haven't built that suck.

They are definitely on my list to check out. They light the one near Brooklyn Bridge up at night, no? Cool?

hamilton · June 2008

[quote="Drunken Revival"]This board really likes to hear itself talk. I don't see anyone of you building a waterfall....

****************************

Hmm, I'll definitely put that on my to do list.

drunken revival · June 2008

I do have quite the pisser... and you are all on my list of things to do.

Good day.

daver · June 2008

Drunken Revival wrote: I do have quite the pisser... and you are all on my list of things to do.

Just how easy do you think I am? You think you are going to able to just walk up and do me? Maybe you can get away with that shit with Hamilton, but I'm going to need _at least_ dinner and a movie.

hamilton · June 2008

Make sure you get the movie and dinner first or you may wind up pissed off as well as pissed on.

daver · June 2008

No shit.

MOD · June 2008

So drunken rival is into water sports eh?

somehow I'm not surprised. Kinky bastard [-X

danny hellman · June 2008

Drunken Revival wrote: What I do see is a lot of people on this board pissing on anything within striking distances.

Now if we could only get those same people to line up on the bridge and piss in unison, we'd really have something to see. Install a few speakers and colored lights and it'd be just like The Dancing Waters.

hamilton · June 2008

After that stunning exhibition ,the group can try out for the Olympic synchronized pissing team or even join a fire fighting team.

The possibilities are unlimited.

jeffrey · June 2008

Danny Hellman wrote: Now if we could only get those same people to line up on the bridge and piss in unison, we'd really have something to see. Install a few speakers and colored lights and it'd be just like The Dancing Waters.

Line it all up in view of the Telectroscope, and...

Take that, London!

anonymous · June 2008

meanwhile while the city spends all this money on this type of crap, there are thousands of starving and homeless people and a severe lack of affordable housing while they continue to make education cuts. i really truly hate this bloomberg deeply and passionately.

hamilton · June 2008

These events create tourism which the starving and homeless don't and without the revenue generated by these moronic presentations how will the City Council be able to steal from us.

carnivore · June 2008

I saw these last night and thought they were kind of "meh."

Anyone else remember the big stream of water they used to have shooting out from the southern tip of Roosevelt Island into the East River? The waterfalls are kind of like a less cool version of that.

1st_streeter · June 2008

Underwhelming. His show at MOMA on the other hand, has some cool installations and lighting schemes.

sweet tea · June 2008

Anonymous wrote: meanwhile while the city spends all this money on this type of crap, there are thousands of starving and homeless people and a severe lack of affordable housing while they continue to make education cuts. i really truly hate this bloomberg deeply and passionately.

i believe the overwhelming majority of the money used on this project was from private sources.

as for the MOMA show, i loved the swinging fan, but i couldn't go into the show proper because the orange light entrance gave me a resounding headache in under a minute. it looked cool to watch everyone turn black and white, but still.

danny hellman · June 2008

Anonymous wrote: meanwhile while the city spends all this money on this type of crap, there are thousands of starving and homeless people

I am under the impression that these things are paid for with private money, not taxpayer dollars.

But they're still crap. I can't understand how anybody gets excited about bolts of orange polyester or a stream of water shooting off the bridge.

nearnostrand · June 2008

Why are people put down just because they don't like something? I don't have to like a piece of "art" just because somebody says it's "art." That's crazy talk. Art is supposed to move you in some way, dare you to contemplate and consider. Perhaps by extension, the waterfalls are making us do just that. But, it doesn't mean we have to like them or think that they don't suck.

My 11 year old thinks the waterfalls "make no sense. They are ridiculous. They look like they're a part of a water ride at an amusement park." My husband said that the gates of last year and the waterfalls of this year should have been put together as one installation - an artistic representation of giant showers and shower curtains. As for me, I am underwhelmed. There was this huge build up and frankly, they don't live up to the hype.

I can tell you how the use of the metal skeletan rising from the river ties into the notion of industry meeting nature, I can say that the scafolding like structure represents mans continued quest to control and create his his surroundings, yet the unending eruption that is nature cannot be stemmed as it will always sprout forth and surge, or I can say that the metal framework was meant to meld into the backdrop of the city while the water was meant to pour forth as if originating then falling from a place unknown, a metaphor for each of us as we redife and remerge daily not allowing this city of steel to harness our essence, all of which sounds just sounds silly. In the end I think somebody got paid waaaaay to much money and got waaaay to much cred for doing what engineers do for Six Flags and Dorney Park. At least my kids get to go on the water rides at Dorney Park.

What was nice was the way the Brooklyn Bridge was lit up during the Brooklyn Bride Anniversary celebration. Maybe the idea of colored lights ain't as highfalootin' as some kind of waterfalling scafolding thing, but in terms of best use of money, those flashing colorful lights that made the Brooklyn Bridge change colors, made adults act like kids and the eyes of kids light up with excitement and awe.

NYC Waterfalls

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