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Diaphanous sculpture going up above the Greenway
By adamg on Sun, 05/03/2015 - 11:51am
Nick Barber shows us Janet Echelman's statue, being erected above the Greenway today.
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Comments
I dont get it....
What the hell is this, it looks like a colorful fishing net. And someone make a living of this by calling it "Art."
You don't need to get it....
...keep walking.
Let me guess: and your five-year-old
could do a Jackson Pollock, too.
This is actually cool,
This is actually cool, because "why not". But Jason Pollock... ugh.
It's not up yet, first of all
It's not up yet, first of all. Second, it could just be "pretty" and "surprisingly large". No need for there to be anything to get.
Anon poster - Its above your paygrade
You're dismissed.
That area of the Greenway
That area of the Greenway is a no man's land. No wonder the Occupiers were attracted to it as someplace to set up camp. Its kind of in the middle of nothing. There is a vast brick wasteland across the street in front of the Federal Reserve Building. People complain about City Hall Plaza but no one seems to complain about the far more desolate area around the Federal Reserve. Makes one yearn for the days when the Peter Pan bus station was where that section of the Greenway is now.
Really?
You really yearn for the old bus station?
Perhaps he would like
To go back to the days of the elevated expressway dipping down into the tunnel, cars bumper to bumper spewing toxic fumes too.
That was a temporary bus station, anyway
It was there for a few years after Trailways left Park Plaza (then called Park Square), while the current South Station bus terminal was being planned and built.
Nonsense, space is active weekdays at least
There are food carts there in the mornings. Food trucks in the afternoon. Farmers' markets on certain days and I've seen concerts/ events there.
Space is being used, and used pretty well
That's not where Occupy was.
They were 2 blocks down, in Dewey Square. They never spread as far up as the Fire Department and the Intercontinental.
But they did briefly try
And were promptly evicted by BPD.
Oh, right, I forgot
The Greenway Committee got worried about all the new plantings & the grass. Which, granted, does not fare well when the sun can't get to it.
Occupy put Dewey Square on the map
I'd never heard the place name "Dewey Square" before Occupy set up. Now it's quite a popular place for food trucks and other events.
Dewey Square
If you ask me, calling that area "Dewey Square" now is almost a courtesy, like the sign in Government Center saying "Scollay Square". Long before the Big Dig, there actually was a real Dewey Square. I remember it in the 70s and 80s. There was a Dewey Square Liquors, Gallery East (fondly remembered by punk rockers), the old Corn Hill Bookstore. Most of those buildings got torn down.
The sculpture in action
Greenway art
How much did this cost?
For how long? And then the artist owns it...
How about The Conservancy using the $2M of public funds to beautify The Greenway instead of PR and art projects that are temporary?
The sky, the open space are lovely...and free, or not really, The Greenway cost $17B+.
Every year taxpayers fund $2M of public dollars for the RFK Greenway Conservancy ten acres of greenspace. The Greenway is an example of The Emperor Has No Clothes. $200,000 per acre for the most uninspired urban greenspace. No wonder it is under utilized, and the Conservancy has to come up with gimmicks of public interest. Post Office Square and The Boston Public Garden are better examples that good horticulture creates an urban oasis that people crave.
Greenway didn't cost $17 billion
Yes, the road under and on either side of it did, but that's not exactly the same thing, no?
Not taxpayer money
In less time than it took you to write that whiny post, I found the funding sources listed on their webpage:
http://northendwaterfront.com/2015/02/10-things-to-know-about-the-echelm...
How Can the Greenway Conservancy Afford This?
Funding for the Echelman installation has been competitively fundraised, mostly from private sources. A majority comes from the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, the Lynch Foundation, Autodesk, ArtPlace America and anonymous donors. Also, public arts grants were awarded from the Boston Cultural Council ($3,000), Massachusetts Cultural Council ($2,500), and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Pah, you and your facts.
Pah, you and your facts.
Along with costing the taxpayers one barzillion dollars, and killing every bird in sight (see a post someone else made below yours), I'd wager this "art" is going to contribute to global warming, too. And illegal immigration. And inner city crime. And DUIs. And terrorism, and the collapse of the dollar, and the commies stealing our precious bodily fluids! And cats and dogs cohabitating, too!
underutilized?!
You should actually visit the Greenway sometime, you might like it. Plenty of the rest of us do.
Rain
What happens when it rains?
Things get wet
Gardens grow. Umbrellas are deployed. Life goes on.
everyone here claiming the Greenway is underused or empty...
... are you sure you're in the right city?
All summer, the Greenway is full of people. I miss being able to eat my lunch in the stretch where this sculpture is-- I no longer work on Atlantic Ave-- but I remember days where I'd have to walk an extra 2 blocks to find a bench. And I took fitness lessons there in the morning that pulled about 40 people out there at 6:30 AM. The Dewey Square farmers market, the interactive fountains, the carousel, and just being able to flop on the grass all pull people to the Greenway. While I'd like to see even more events, it's hardly "underutilized."
One giant bird killing net.
One giant bird killing net.
Or designed to ensure it doesn't harm birds
From the artist's website:
BIRDS AND WILDLIFE INFORMATION
We get asked questions frequently about the safety of birds and wildlife with respect to our sculptures. No bird or creature has ever been harmed from one of our artworks. Our work goes through a careful review in order to receive legal permits before construction begins. We consulted a bio-engineering firm that explained how the physical qualities of the artwork do not meet the criteria that would endanger birds. Our nets are made of thicker rope with wider net openings than those used to entrap flying birds or other creatures. Our structures are not unlike naturally occurring vines and thickets often found in local forests, and birds are well adapted to avoid these.
It's nice to see this space
It's nice to see this space used in a different way. It might be popular during the summer, but usually the only people see there during the colder months (which is most of the year, let's be real) are South Station hustlers. It feels more like a highway median strip than a park. There must be a better way to utilize the space during the colder months.
That said, I do prefer the openness compared to the sketchy 93 overpass in between the South End and South Boston (though I know and am glad improvements are being made there, too. Haven't heard any updates on that in awhile, very interested on seeing what will happen there).
Anyway, I'm interested in the artist's creative process and how she goes about making things. I want to see more public art in Boston. (And not have it shut down by boring people who think it's promoting Muslim terrorists or wasting public funds or whatever other nonsense).
the fishnet lady strikes again!
She has sold one of these in just about every city. Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, Tampa... It's pretty neat, I'll give you that, but geez, get a second idea already
So don't buy one.
*nm*
More info from Janet Echelman
http://www.echelman.com/project/boston-greenway/