09/19/2005
Island Fever
It was a rather gray day on Saturday for the unveiling of Robert Smithson's posthumous realization, Floating Island, but hundreds turned out to view this tugboat pulling a barge full of trees as if the Queen Mary were arriving from her maiden voyage.
It's not the most aesthetically appealing piece of public art — but of course Smithson's art is more about the concept of displacement — taking a piece of Central Park and putting it out on the water. The most entertaining part of this unveiling were the oohs and aahs from the crowd as the barge approached Piers 45 and 46, where folks had lined up to see the passing of the tiny acre. I could only be amused as the tug pulled by and the crowd let out a huge round of applause for this square chunk of turf.
That itself was worth the trip.
The floating island will be chugging around Manhattan all week. More photos after the jump.
Floating Island to Tour Manhattan [tr]
Posted 11:34 AM EST by Andy Towle in Art & Design | Permalink
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At least it's cuter than this rubbish pregnant armless/legless naked lady thingy sculpture we have unveiled at our Trafalgar Square fourth plinth (London UK).
Posted by: Vic | Sep 19, 2005 12:20:07 PM
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Posted by: P. Viktor | Sep 19, 2005 1:41:15 PM
Leave it to New Yorkers to waste money. Having a Tug-Boat waste fuel, and polute. Subject trees and plants to unnatural soils and salts when they could have planted them somewhere for people to walk among and enjoy where they could grow and mature safely. All I see here is another pile of wanton waste. Disgusting to say the least.
Posted by: Bear | Sep 19, 2005 7:53:33 PM
new yorkers use less energy per capita than your average american, so we get to have the tug boat. In fact, I'm donating all the gas I haven't used over the past 5 years of not owning a car to the tugboat.
Why NYC is the Greenest City in the US (Warning:PDF)
http://www.greenbelt.org/downloads/resources/newswire_11_04GreenManhattan.pdf
Posted by: will | Sep 19, 2005 9:21:05 PM
Right on, Will! I agree.
Posted by: Jeremy | Sep 20, 2005 1:56:31 AM
I worked on the Floating Island project. To understanding the concept for Floating Island it is best to refer to late artist Robert Smithson's ideas about 'site/non site' works. (See a video of the barge for the current Smithson exhibit at the Whitney Museum http://whitney.org/exhibition/feat_smithson.shtml). As for the trees & shrubs they are indigineous to the north-east region and they came from nurserys in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The 3 rocks are on loan from Central Park and everything will go to the park conservancy where they will be planted after the barge is dismantled. Funding for the project was provided by Minetta Brook, a nonprofit arts organization that presents public art projects and exhibitions throughout New York State and a host of other paticipants. The original concept (1970) was partially based on paying hommage to Frederick Law Olmstead who designed Central Park. Manhattan surrounds the park and now a piece of the park goes around Mnahattan. Is it Art? A Garden of Eden after eviction? A tribute to Bob Denver? I don't know, but I like it.
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