The East River is singing!

David Byrne, a recovering architect himself, has gone back to the well…only this time merged with his musical genius. Creative Time (perhaps the most audacious public art sponsors in the city) connected Byrne with the use of the upper floor of the Maritime Building on South Street.

Byrne then connected the building to this organ people line up to play every Friday thru Saturday. Pipes are drilled into flutes, radiators edges are fondled loudly, and other structural elements are variously transformed into percussion instruments giving this 100 year old building (dreadfully underused for how beautiful the space is) a creaky cacophony of sounds that would make John Cage proud.

We rode our bikes along the East River pathway to also take in Olafur Eliasson’s 4 Waterfalls. These are obviously designed with “best views” in mind as up close and personal (though I’d love to kayak under one if the impact or grime wouldn’t kill me) they seem a little un-glorious. The one under the Brooklyn Bridge rocks it from all directions, the others need a little distance to emotionally trick you into awe with the help of adjacent dense cityscapes.

Luckily there are plenty of boats, including…the FREE ferry to Governor’s Island (where the 4th waterfall lives)..and which conveniently leaves from….the Maritime Building where David Byrne’s rigged organ is making all that racket.

Thanks for the treats gentlemen!
A great excuse to drink in the edges of this fair city.

Playing the Building - open Fri-Sun til August 24th …. noon til 6pm