The New York City will
sponsor an exhibition of four waterfalls that will be placed for three months on
the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
After “The Gates” project turned out to be such an artistic
success, the city decided to commission Olafur Elisasson, a Scandinavian artist,
to build the waterfalls in four different locations along the river.
The project represents the collaboration between the city
and the Public Art Fund, which is a non profit organization.
The waterfalls will be placed in New
York Harbor in Lower Manhattan
at Pier 35, in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn
Bridge between Piers 4 and 5 and in Governors Island, the New York Times reports.
The project is estimated to cost around $15 million and is
from private funds only.
According to the Economic Development Corporation, the
waterfalls, which will be environmental friendly, will bring to the city’s
economy about $ 50 million.
According to the city, the aquatic life will remain
protected by pools in the river which will be used to filter the water.
The project will need to raise platforms at about 90 to 120
feet high in the water and will use pumps to force the water to rise and then
fall back in the river.
Today Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to announce the
project, which was announced since yesterday in The New York Sun.
“The Gates” project, which was erected by the Bulgarian
artist Christo and his wife three years ago, brought to the city’s economy
about $254 million, having an estimated 4 million visitors from February 12 to
27 2005, Newsday.com informs.
Eliasson was born in Denmark in 1967 and is known for his
works which depict elements of nature.
One of his pieces, “The weather project,” is at the Tate
Modern in London,
in which he used elements like light and reflection to depict the sun and the
sky.
The waterfalls will be admired from mid-July to mid-October,
every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. After the sunset it will be illuminated and
will be seen from land and boat.