THE NEW YORK CITY WATERFALLS

2008

Content Development, Media Design

Public Art Fund and Olafur Eliasson

with Tinlab

INABA designed and developed the content for Olafur Eliasson’s New York City Waterfalls website. Its hierarchy, texts and media graphics provide easy-to-access information about the project, the artist, associated educational resources and visitor access. In collaboration with Eliasson and the Public Art Fund, the site was also conceived to expand the role of public art by offering an additional dimension to the typical art viewing experience.

Public art made artwork more accessible by bringing it out from the gallery into the city. The New York City Waterfalls continues that tradition by being highly accessible. Situated on multiple sites along the East River, the project was intended to be experienced from numerous vantage points within a large and varied area of the city. Its online presence adds another level of accessibility for those both able and unable to visit in person. Information that cannot be gathered from the physical experience alone were produced for the website. Videos, illustrations and motion graphics present an overview of the creative process and production, including the planning approval steps, engineering challenges, professional collaborations, environmental compliance measures and construction logistics. The site further informs viewers of the project’s urban exigencies with materials explaining the water ecology of New York, patterns of waterfront development and the coexistence of infrastructure and nature. The online site also encourages an extended form of art participation through learning, with educational materials that include lessons plans, course exercises and literature references produced specifically for the commission.