Artist Olafur Eliasson has installed a cascading waterfall directly under one of the towers of the Brookyln Bridge. In this excerpt, he reflects on the need for public space and the impact of art in public.
"Two years in the planning, under construction since March 17 of this year, the falls are scheduled to run from tomorrow through Monday, Oct. 13, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (except Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the starting time is pushed to 9 a.m.) As Mr. Eliasson sees it, the work of art here is the experience: the approach, the contemplation, the going away. "Expectation. Engagement. Memory," Mr. Eliasson says. "You can't take a journey with you." The only souvenirs will be ones you carry in your head."
"Political theory, ecology and ethics likewise enter the picture. 'People like to think that public space is neutral and open to all. Actually, it is subject to commercial interests, to the intentions of power elites. Public space is what's left when everything else has been privatized. We need to create it, we need to nurture it. I didn't dump down the waterfalls from the moon. I tried to integrate them with the city in a productive way."'
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