Sunday was another beautiful day in NYC. The sun was shining brightly in the crisp cool air. I always think things look sharper and more in focus in the crisp fall and winter air. I am one of those weird people who loves cool and cold weather. So I was pretty happy to be out chalking even if it started at about 9:30 on a Sunday morning. (I think my future projects will happen only on weekdays).
I started the day finishing up the line through the streets of Gowanus. I was accompanied again by my friend Margo, who biked from Washington Heights to Gowanus. Quite a ride, but on such a gorgeous day she said it was fabulous (I believe her!) We were headed to Red Hook soccer fields for installation of beacons AND some great food! We finished the chalking, noting all of the scrap metal and industrial sites along the Gowanus Canal that lay below the line. This means that a storm would sweep all of these toxins farther inland, as well as washing them back out to sea when the water recedes. Of course the toxins are also leaching into the groundwater and through that process washing into the Gowanus already.
We met up with Peter at the soccer fields and treated ourselves to some Salvadorean pupusas before starting the install. Hose also came out to shoot some more for me.
This was the most fascinating installation yet! For those who are not familiar with the Red Hook soccer fields, it is a soccer field that is used from dawn to dusk on the weekends from May to October. It is always packed - soccer teams, their entire families, lots of kids, the food vendors, loads of people visiting for the food and a lot of other people just out to enjoy the day. So the installation was intertwined with many other goings on.
As I started the installation, I was swamped by a bunch of kids who were fascinated by what I was doing. They all wanted to help and were fighting over trying to help me install everything. They then took ownership of the project, telling people not to touch them and keeping the beacons well guarded. I had one young man who helped me install everything, carry water to fill them and put on the caps. This was a great installation - I talked to so many people of all ages and from all areas of Brooklyn, what a great place to meet many people.
Unfortunately I ended up a little short handed in the afternoon and needed to do some more chalking. So I uninstalled the beacons later in the day (but before nightfall) in order to do more chalking. I still wanted to have the beacons up after dark, so I returned to install a small grouping of them. A group of the girls who were watching the daytime installation were still there and they loved the beacons at night. They were looking at all of the beacons with the lights in them and told me they looked beautiful. At the end of the evening, they were huddled around one of the beacons, lost in contemplation. So from a hectic day came a peaceful and contemplative evening.
Thanks to all the kids out at the ball fields for their energy, fascination and interest in learning about art and climate change!
Apologies for the delay in posting this I was trying to get all of the images uploaded and edited.
Comment from original post:
you graffing now too, nice pics… and remember my beacon order still stands! Comment by hamez — September 19, 2007 #