The New York City waterfalls show again that monumental art is underpinned by science and engineering…

Looking at the 4 waterfalls, created by Olafur Eliasson in the East river, there is no doubt that they are beautiful to look at, the interplay of sunlight with the churning water, the seamless linearity of the scaffold with the Brooklyn bridge and New York architecture, etc,……

But the waterfalls are also 4 man-made scaffolded structures, involving giant pumps that propel water 90-120 feet into the air, together spewing out 35,000 gallons water per minute. Basically, this seems almost more a feat of engineering, something that also underlies Eliasson’s Weather Project which recreated the sun in London using mono-frequency lamps and misted in ‘clouds’ (2004). Anish Kapoor’s Marsyas in London, suspended PVC membrane from steel rings and relied on the internal forces within for support of the colossal sculpture, while Richard Serra’s metallurgical mammoths adorned MoMA NYC last year. Physics and engineering are essential to all these pieces and presumably these forces are considered carefully and utilized by the artist, but it’s also an aspect of this work striking to beholders.

The waterfalls can be seen in the East river (yes the same East river that ‘fragranced’ Kramer during his hare-brained Seinfeld swimming scheme), until mid-October. All four falls can be viewed from the South Street Seaport, perhaps over a beverage. To get up close and personal, the Circle line operates tours, and if you are organized, you can get limited free tickets in advance, else it’s 10 bucks.