Planet Forward: Smart people, smart iedas. Online and on TV.

Walk on Waves!

Posted by rdunlap on May 15, 2009
(6)
More »

Yes, you heard me correctly: Only an hour outside of New York City, you can strut your stuff among sea swells.


OK, I should clarify one thing: The sea swells I mentioned are exactly like the ones you would find in the middle of the ocean, except for the fact that they are made out of gravel, earth, and grass instead of water. 


SKAC-LIN-SITE-4171.jpg

Now, I know you are kind of bummed because you thought I was going to reveal the new walking-on-water technology I’ve been creating in my spare time, but these earthen waves would be a great day-trip destination all the same.


Here’s the scoop: Environmental artist Maya Lin, whose work is currently on display here in DC, has transformed a boring, old gravel pit into four acres of undulating green, grassy waves at the Storm King Art Center in New York’s Hudson Valley. 


The work itself is beautiful (see photo), but the most interesting part of the endeavor, in my opinion, is Lin’s methodology. Not only did the artist study fluid dynamics and use sophisticated technology to recreate (to a tee) the scale and pacing of mid-sea waves, she also meticulously calculated the carbon footprint of the construction and plans to offset the emissions by planting 260 indigenous trees in the area. Lin was also very particular about the materials used to build the Wavefield. The underlying structure is made up of gravel from the site, and the grasses covering the waves are native to the area and will require minimal watering. 


The new Wavefield is a great reason to head out to Storm King this summer, but once you arrive, you’ll find plenty of reasons to stay a while: the 500-acre sculpture park boasts beautiful landscapes and works by Henry Moore, David Smith, and Alice Aycock, to name a few.


Storm King is open Wednesday-Sunday, April 1 to November 15.


Photo taken by Jerry L. Thompson, courtesy of www.stormkingartcenter.com

Keywords: , , , , ,
(6)
More »

Related Links

Comments

  1. Christian Buss
    May 15, 2009, 12:37 pm

    Just went out there last saturday. It’s quite a striking installation. I highly reccoment And there’s a great Goldsworthy installation right next to it too:
    http://www.stormking.org/AndyGoldsworthy.html

  2. Susan Kohlback
    May 16, 2009, 8:34 am

    Looks like a new hazard on an upscale golf course. Is he in the rough, the sand trap? No he’s in the waves!

  3. Get A Trip
    May 17, 2009, 6:45 am

    Just when you thought you saw it all… Interesting place– if it were cement it sure would make a heck of a skate park!

  4. interior architecture photography singapore
    July 28, 2009, 4:26 am

    amazing view…awesome

  5. shawnmike
    December 23, 2009, 11:28 pm

    “What interested Frank Lloyd Wright in Japanese art was its reliance on the “conventionalization of nature,” by which he meant a process of simplifying natural forms down to an essential geometry. If one is willing to accept a certain turn-of-the-century mysticism — Wright believed such geometry expressed the “soul” of natural forms — Wright’s text makes for enlightening reading. it helps us to understand how such “conventionalization” provided him with the key to deriving architectural forms from the dramatic sweep and bold configurations of the American landscape without merely imitating them.
    …where Wright found his version of nature’s soul in a spiritualized geometry, Lin distills form and material according to the underlying laws of physical science. Over the years, she has found inspiration by working with computer-enhanced imaging, aerial and satellite photography, topographic mapping and the principles of fluid dynamics. Lin’s liking for the tools of science and technology is tempered by the intuitive process she favors — a process which, she reports, sometimes threatens to drive clients used to a more structured architectural procedure around the bend.” By voip

  6. Allen
    January 9, 2010, 6:57 am

    Here’s a new-fangled accoutrement I begin while surfing the net. It’s a Wavewalk. While some (notably Bernie) ability agitation over whether or not it even is a kayak, the architect markets it as a fishing kayak you can angle in 70-448. Or you can sit in it if you absolutely wish to.
    You can even go bike and accept two humans sitting in the cockpit. And it’s acceptable in the surf, at atomic according to the website, but I accept to anticipate you’d wouldn’t wish to be continuing too top traveling over the waves 70-450.
    Or you can pimp it out and go fishing. Here anyone has tricked it up with a baby outboard engine, a fishing accouterment box, and fishing pole holders 70-536. Or are those photon abate launchers and a phaser bank? It’s harder to tell.