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Photos, Video: An Interactive 'Iceberg' Is Unveiled In Garment District
By
Scott Lynch
Published Jan 10, 2019
Modified Jan 10, 2019
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Scott Lynch / Gothamist
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By
Scott Lynch
Published Jan 10, 2019
Modified Jan 10, 2019
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The Broadway pedestrian plazas just south of Times Square got a piece of public art yesterday, to the delight of phone-wielding passersby.
The interactive sculpture, called "Iceberg," consists of a series of jagged metal arches that emit both light and sound as you walk through, and is meant to represent the life cycle of a floe, from calving to melting. Whether you would know this without reading the artists' explanation planted at either end of the tunnel is unlikely, though the piece is intended to function as a "profound reminder of the seriousness of climate change," according to the Garment District Alliance.
The piece is a cool addition to the streetscape, with interactive functions that are well executed. As you pass under each arch the light changes from blue to pink to red, and you're hit with a loud "drip" sound, which is the melting. The drips change frequency from low to high from one end to the other, creating an especially pleasing effect if you run. Every once in a while the entire piece goes nuts, with the lights and drips getting all frantic until a thunderous crashing (signifying a calving) is heard. And if you're just here for the photo-op, the arch's physical progression seems designed to make for a trippy background.
"Iceberg" was a team effort—ATOMIC3, Appareil Architecture, Jean-Sébastian Cote, and Philippe Jean are all listed in the credits—and the sculpture made its first appearance at the 2012 Luminotherapie festival in Montreal. The piece is located on the Broadway pedestrian plaza at 37th Street, and will be on view through February 24.
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Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
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