‘Waterfalls’ Opens in New York@Art

Olafur Eliasson's four "New York City Waterfalls," a $15.5 million public art project, opened in the New York Harbor after two years of planning.

Photo: Vincent Laforet for The New York Times

At the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side.

The installations opened on Thursday morning with a ceremony at South Street Seaport and a publicity blitz by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who criss-crossed four morning television programs to tout the installation.

Photo: Vincent Laforet for The New York Times

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A view from near by the Pier 35 installation.

The waterfalls were billed as the city's grandest public art commission since Christo and Jeanne-Claude flooded Central Park with saffron-colored fabric panels for "The Gates" in 2005.

Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

The mayor said the project, which remains on view through Oct. 13, had gotten 30 permits from government agencies.

Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The waterfalls are at Pier 35 in Manhattan, near South and Rutgers Streets north of the Manhattan Bridge; at the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge; Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn, west of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade; and on the north shore of Governors Island. They will be turned on every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., except on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when they will be activated at 9 a.m.

Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

A view of the installation from the Brooklyn Promenade in Brooklyn Heights.

After sunset, the waterfalls will be lighted by light-emitting diodes.

Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The four waterfalls, 90 to 120 feet tall, churn 35,000 gallons of East River water per minute, or 2.1 million gallons per hour. The water first goes through mesh-covered "filter intake pools" to ensure that fish and larvae are not pulled into the pumps or harmed.

Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Mr. Eliasson, 41, a Danish-Icelandic artist who was born in 1967 and is the subject of a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art and the P. S. 1 Contemporary Art Center that closes on Monday, is known for using color, lights, mirrors and natural materials to immerse viewers in sensory-challenging environments.

Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

The Public Art Fund, a nonprofit group begun in 1977 that installs contemporary works in the city, commissioned the project. Planning began in March 2006, and construction of the concrete and metal scaffolds began in March 2008.

Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

"New York City Waterfalls," Olafur Eliasson's $15.5 million quartet of temporary cascades dotting the New York Harbor, formally opened with a ceremony at South Street Seaport and a publicity blitz by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who criss-crossed four morning television programs to tout the installation.

Photo: Vincent Laforet for The New York Times

@Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/26/nyregion/20080626FALL_index.html