The Faux Shaux

This four-part installation of waterfalls on the East River is brilliant. Oddly, I often find myself defending both their artistic integrity and beauty. They are simplistic structures, scaffolding and piping, maybe the critics wanted something more elaborate?  I don’t think that anything would’ve pleased all of New York.

Though Eliasson has his purposes behind the structures, the refocusing NY to its rivers has much more connotation to locals.  Certainly they draw attention to fervently discussed environmental issues as well as draw community to our public spaces.  But the East River represents far more than your average metropolitan waterway.  It represents new beginnings and foreign descent.  It separates the 5 boroughs, preserving their uniquity.  It also serves as a communal joke – the resting bed for snitches with cement shoes, or a present reminder to filter that tap water.  It’s a funny juxtaposition to portray a geographic wonder that is comprised of water that no one would dare drink from and few would swim in.

Brooklyn Bridge's Waterfall

Visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park, you can get up close and personal with the free falling water. When there is a decent breeze, the water mists the entire park, quite a treat during the muggy days we’ve had lately. I’ve always been drawn to water.  I find it comforting, always accompanied by a breeze, I find it’s periodicity conducive to deep thought and/or meditation.

While many find the scaffolding ugly or unnatural, I agreed with the consensus until I experienced the Pier 35 waterfall during the night. Driving up the FDR, I approached a front-lit, floating waterfall. It looked as if there were a seam in mid-air, where a weightless river spouted unto the river. The sight was surreal – serene and delicate, unlike the waterfall I encountered in the daylight.  I regard each location differently, much like one would toward any natural waterfall in his land.  They all have different emotional significance to me, and I love finding them during my no-longer-routine commute.