6/30/2008

I got shampoo in my eye in the shower of media attention

I'm at a loss to explain the astonishing lack of coverage of Olafur Eliasson's massive public art project in New York Harbor. One would think that at the very least the blogosphere would have something to say about the four towering waterfalls, conveniently positioned for maximum visibility off the south-eastern tip of manhattan, since this is exactly the sort of big, crowd-pleasing, innocuous and offensive-to-no-one-(except-hard-core-curmudgeons) sort of "art event" that usually brings in the bloggers in droves. Perhaps I need to improve my googling skills, but I haven't heard a word.

The free IKEA-contracted New York Water Taxi cruises past an Eliasson waterfall at the south end of the Brooklyn promenade. This a great way to get a look at the installation from the water, without spending a dime. On the whole, the evening view is far better than the daytime view, when the waterfalls are a bit lost in the city landscape.

Illuminated a much cooler color than the ochre skies above our incandescent yellow city, the waterfalls pop out of the nocturnal landscape, mysterious flowing blue diagonals detached from their almost invisible scaffolds. The last run on the IKEA ferry is about 10PM; I recommend a round-trip started from either end of the route about 9.

2 comments:

Triss Teh said...

Ah. So that's who made it. His Moma work is awsome as well.

Sad. I only saw them during the daytime. (vacations should never have a reservation)

Triss Teh said...

Is that me on the water taxi?