At DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival

HARBOR MOVEMENT with Waterways
/part of the D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival: http://dumboartfestival.org/

HARBOR MOVEMENT on board the water taxi in the East River
Fri–Sun, Sept. 25-27, 2009: 7-9 pm, free 1/2-hr tours from the dock at Fulton Ferry Landing

Harbor Movement, as described by Klara Elenius:

Harbor Movement was an event on the water, embarking from the Fulton Ferry Landing under the Brooklyn Bridge, Sept. 25-27, 2009.

Seven strange captains invited people at the pier to go onboard our boat and experience the East River in an unusual way.  They whistled, they pointed and directed tourists and visitors to the boat.

Harbor Movement was part of the D.U.M.B.O. Art Under The Bridge Festival, and our event took place on and around the water taxi.  A diverse audience of festival visitors, tourists, small children, young and old people joined us during our twelve different boat rides on the last weekend of September.

While entering the boat, participants were handed binoculars to be used to get a closer look at the city and the landscape of light that surrounding it and the boat.  These cruises took place from sunset at 7 pm until the last ride that ended at 9 pm.  Complementary to this architectonic experience, the boat “danced” in a choreographed route, twirling and making unusual movements as a water soundtrack played in the boat’s speaker system.  Together, these simple components created an intense experience of being ON the water IN the city.  Finally, getting off the boat, out to the pier again – the captains applauded the journey and welcomed the audience back from their floating reality to a more grounded one.

To be on East River at night, on a boat that pirouettes and weaves through the water, with Manhattan and Brooklyn and their connecting bridges as a spectacular backdrop, was a strong physical and visual experience.

I heard some people say, this wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was an amazing experience.  I like when people don’t get what they expect.