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August 28, 2008

BHA Wants Waterfalls Shut Down

"New York City's Waterfalls", the public art exhibition of four man-made waterfalls by artist Olafur Eliasson, is scheduled to end on October 13th. But the Brooklyn Heights Association wants them dismantled earlier, reports the Brooklyn Paper. Salt-soaked spray from the falls has been damaging and possibly even killing trees caught in their mist; the spray has also damaged cars parked by the River Café. Those calling for the faucet to be turned off swear their objection isn't aesthetic, although the Brooklyn Paper noted that the falls, by the BQE, Brooklyn Bridge, Pier 35 in Manhattan and along the FDR, were supposed to be viewable from many Brooklyn spots. Instead, they say, they look "more like a giant Erector Set from the borough’s shores."
TREE-BACLE [Brooklyn Paper]

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"a pair of arborcidal waterfalls" -- heh, the brooklyn paper is bringing the funny today!

Posted by: z at August 28, 2008 9:54 AM

turn 'em off. My sympathies are with the trees!

Posted by: east river at August 28, 2008 9:59 AM

i agree > get rid o them!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: bowl of dicks at August 28, 2008 10:01 AM

Bunch of Babies.

Posted by: KHuebbe at August 28, 2008 10:07 AM

the waterfalls are damn ugly! what a waste!

Posted by: troll at August 28, 2008 10:08 AM

I like them. They are not going anywhere until October.

Posted by: Ahh beer at August 28, 2008 10:14 AM

Good, I hope they take them down. Those waterfalls are hideous. This installation reminds me of The Gates in Central Park a few years ago. Huge waste of money and total eyesore.

Posted by: LifeStyler at August 28, 2008 10:29 AM

Olafur Eliasson=Frank Ghery?

Posted by: East New York at August 28, 2008 10:31 AM

I hate the waterfalls. They're ugly and a waste of $$. They're just water coming out of scaffolding. You don't need an artist for that, just a plumber.

He could have done so much more. If you saw the exhibit at MOMA, there were several really great installations by him. What he does with water and light is spectacular, too bad it doesn't come across that way in the waterfalls.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at August 28, 2008 10:37 AM

The BHA is right. the salt water is causing damage and killing trees and plantings along the waterfront including the promenade. If the spray was killing trees on the Upper East side, the mayor would have turned them off a long time ago.

Posted by: sam at August 28, 2008 10:38 AM

ENY: Their creations both leak pretty badly, so you might be on to something here.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at August 28, 2008 10:38 AM

I'm all for large-scale art exhibitions in the city but the waterfalls are a failed concept. Poorly conceived, poorly executed. Take them down.

Posted by: FatLenny at August 28, 2008 10:48 AM

i walked by the remsen street waterfall earlier this week and the parks dept. was on the promenade hosing down the trees to rinse the saltwater off. the damage to the trees is noticeable - it looks to extend beyond the city's trees into some residents' yards.

Posted by: janelle at August 28, 2008 10:51 AM

They were somewhat cool for about a week. The trees are much more beautiful. Shut it down.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at August 28, 2008 11:06 AM

The waterfalls are an eyesore and have not generated the public interest or revenue the City was hoping for. Also, aesthetically, the exhibit would have been better with just two waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge so each could be viewed from Manhattan and Brooklyn. Instead, we get stuck with backside views of ugly scaffolding and dead tree leaves.

Posted by: jwald at August 28, 2008 11:47 AM

U-G-L-Y, you aint got no alibi

Posted by: mh at August 28, 2008 11:52 AM

Yep, this dog has barked. Time to turn the tap off.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 28, 2008 11:57 AM

and it was a mutt to begin with

Posted by: bxgrl at August 28, 2008 11:59 AM

This is nothing like The Gates, in my opinion, which were mostly well received and fondly remembered. The only legacy this leaves is dead vegetation, damaged cars and wasted money. It figures, despite many buildings in New York often facing interruptions in their water supply, these monstrosities never have problems...

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 12:00 PM

Only somewhat more appealing at night with the lights on. I call this the broken water pipe installation.

Posted by: verysleepy at August 28, 2008 12:09 PM

Would it be considered vandalism if we all meet and push them over into the East River?

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 12:11 PM

There is one other aspect of this issue that I am surprised that no one has noted. Take a look at the photo in this article, and note how close the fountain is to the steel roadway structure of the Brooklyn Bridge. If you think that the salt-water spray is wreaking havoc on the nearby trees and cars, just imagine what it is doing these steel members, especially given that the BB is in need of a repainting. Corroding these steel members is a very serious matter, given the cost of repairing them.

WHAT were they thinking when they chose this location?

Posted by: benson at August 28, 2008 12:13 PM

They're not permanent? Oh thank god.

Posted by: AmberSantos at August 28, 2008 12:21 PM

With a team like this...

http://www.nycwaterfalls.org/#/waterfalls_team/Partners_and_Team

how could they miss?

The problem though is not necessarily with the execution so much as the ambition of the project.

They are competing with the context and the scale of the location. What sculpture up against the Brooklyn Bridge not to mention the wide open spaces of the East River is going to compete.

Olafur is a gifted artist but his work is more intimate than is required of a work up against the backdrop of New York City. This work would of been great installed in one of the ponds of Central Park or similar settings.

Too bad, but let's not let this prevent us from trying again.

Posted by: kuroko at August 28, 2008 12:43 PM

Hmmm...good point benson. Gee I hated saying that.

Posted by: east river at August 28, 2008 12:44 PM

East River;

See, we can agree on something! Perhaps there's hope!

;-)

Posted by: benson at August 28, 2008 12:48 PM

kuroko, other than the blandness, actually, downright ugliness of this installation, the primary complaint is the effect of the salt water on the flora and fauna around it. That said, how on earth could you think installing it in a pond in Central Park is a good idea?

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 12:51 PM

kuroko- I confess I never looked at it that way but re-imagining the falls in a smaller location certainly makes a difference in how the project could have engaged us.

I'd love to see another project from him because his work sounds fascinating, but we still have to ecological damage to contend with and I'm curious whose oversight that was- his or the City?

Posted by: bxgrl at August 28, 2008 12:56 PM

I'll take one of Olmstead's more attractive, natural and environmentally friendly falls over Olafur's. Pull the plug...

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 1:01 PM

The bottom line is that these installations are causing environmental damage. Mayor Bloomberg wants more trees palnted, which is great, but the salt spray from the artificial falls is killing trees in DUMBO, in Brooklyn Heights, and on Governor's Island. This is terrible for the environment. No one predicted this, but now that the effects are very clear, the falls must be turned off right away.

Posted by: sam at August 28, 2008 1:03 PM

But Biff, an installation in a park or off of a fountain would be utilizing either reservoir or ground water, hence no salt, and no damage to flora and fauna.

It would have been interesting to see a smaller work, I agree. A lot of his stuff is very cool, pardon the pun.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 28, 2008 1:05 PM

I think the problem is not just salt either.
There is an oily residue that collects on cars parked near the west ends of Remsen St and Montague st. It may be oily residue from the pumps. the whole thing is just an environemntal disaster from the word go.

Posted by: sam at August 28, 2008 1:08 PM

bxgrl, if you want to see some of his other projects, go to http://www.olafureliasson.net . He does indeed have a number of really fascinating and wonderful works. It's unfortunate many people will only know him for and associate him with this installation.

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 1:10 PM

Montrose, point well taken. Although I still don't think this would be to my own taste in a park setting. On his website, I found similar falls in different contexts, which is an interesting contrast.

http://www.olafureliasson.net/selected_works/sw_16.html

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 28, 2008 1:13 PM

Biff,
you are so right,
whenever I see the name "Olafur", I will think
"environmental disaster".

But since there is no damage to Manhattan, I doubt very much
the "art world" gives a shit. Most of them only know Brooklyn from driving through it to catch their Air France flight.

Posted by: sam at August 28, 2008 1:19 PM

A for impulse, C for execution and effect.

The falls have done done their thing and should be swiftly removed, especially if causing arboreal distress.

Remember: poems are made by fools like me, but only Robert Moses can make a tree.

Seriously: ca suffit.

Posted by: AB at August 28, 2008 1:19 PM

Bxgrl...PS 1 may still have some work up and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea represents his work.

Step away from the keyboard and get out and see the work. Failing that, here's his website: http://www.olafureliasson.net/

Posted by: kuroko at August 28, 2008 2:13 PM

Biff...I disagree on the primary complaint...these works are failures...the salt water ate my tree/car complaint came two months after they were turned on.

Posted by: kuroko at August 28, 2008 2:16 PM

A better waterfall display

http://gizmodo.com/5036399/inkjet+like-smart-waterfall-makes-animated-falling-water-show

Posted by: Karka at August 28, 2008 2:27 PM

I fail to see how cars could be damaged by this. Their are cars on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard too. I could be wrong.

I was excited hearing about it and watching them get built. But they turned out kinda blah. We even took the boat tour to see them. Loved the Gates, this ain't them. But give Bloomberg credit for trying to make the city a more interesting place. Here's my favorite shot of the falls:

http://www.pbase.com/dentontay/image/102312299

Posted by: denton at August 28, 2008 2:31 PM

Denton;

It depends upon the atmospheric conditions around a seacoast town. I know of some places (including towns in coastal Japan) where the salt atmosphere is a problem for the cars. Moreover, here you have a situation where salt water is being sprayed into the atmosphere.

Posted by: benson at August 28, 2008 2:40 PM

It's the continuous spray of salt water that is the problem. Note that saline waterfalls do not occur in nature. These man-made ones are causing bad things to happen around them.
Public art at its most idiotic. The trust for public art must be eating this up. They love to piss off the public with one of their installations. It is what modern art is supposed to do: annoy.

Posted by: sam at August 28, 2008 3:08 PM

kuroko- thanks! I'll have to try to see his work when I'm in Manhattan again- I loved Reverse waterfall and 1 m3 (I think that was the title- a light installation).

Posted by: bxgrl at August 28, 2008 3:23 PM

gates were great, well done, waterfalls are not so much. the intended effect of seeing a torrent of water would have been really cool, instead we see a huge scaffold and a litlle bit of water. meh
As for the water corroding the bridge....You know, the bridge is built over the East River, it is going to be exposed to salt water...

Posted by: jelly donut at August 28, 2008 4:01 PM

Jelly Donut;

It's one thing to have a steel roadway sitting hundreds of feet over a running salt/fresh water river, it's another thing to spray a mist right under it. I doubt very much that much salt from the east river normally makes its way into the air above it (when one is near the East river, there is normally no saltish smell). However, it is asking for trouble to purposely mist the air right under a steel roadway with salt water. Corrosion is directly related to the degree of exposure.

Posted by: benson at August 28, 2008 4:45 PM

Olafur Eliason is killing trees, and he apparently doesn't even care. And I thought he was interested in nature ... interested in killing it I guess!

Posted by: werner at August 28, 2008 11:12 PM

« More Big Box Shops for Red Hook Modernism in the City/Gehry in Brooklyn »

August 28, 2008

BHA Wants Waterfalls Shut Down

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