Asterisks
The Asterisks are a series of eight kinetic sculptures in stainless steel and colored acrylic. Installed at Hunters Point Plaza at 47th Road & Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, NY, a few blocks from MoMA PS1.
This installation was made possible by the support of Plaxall, Inc. and fabricated by Shape Studio and MD Studios.
Candela
Candela is a video projection art project I created in Long Island City, NY. The work features a luminous candle with flickering flame, transforming urban architecture into a beacon of contemplation.
I originally projected the piece onto a 50-foot brick tower adjacent to the Anable Basin (as seen above). When structural deterioration required the tower's dismantling, I relocated Candela to a structure on 5th Street next to the Culture Lab stage. This transition reflects the adaptive nature of both the artwork and the neighborhood itself, demonstrating how public art can evolve while maintaining its purpose as a source of light and hope in the cityscape.
Made possible by the support of Plaxall, Inc.
Projection by Chris Jordan, Video shot and produced by Sam Baumel, Computer programming by Joshua Goldberg
Hardware design by J McDonald of SHAPE Studio and Amit Patil of Plaxall, Inc.
You can see Candela's flame flicker every night in Long Island City - best viewed from the outdoor stage at Culture Lab LIC.
Candela in its new location beside the stage at Culture Lab on 5th Street in Long Island City.
In its first location, the video and static light projection rig on the rooftop with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Waterfall Swing
It started with a video of a water printer filmed at a Japanese Mall. My friend Ian Charnas sent the clip to Mike O'Toole and I who were brainstorming ideas for an art project. I thought it would be fun if one's body could pass through a hole in a wall of water and had the idea that a swing might be the way to do it. After being rejected for a more elaborate version, we got a grant from Maker Faire to build a simple version of the Waterfall Swing.
Ian brought in Andrew Witte and the four of us built the first Waterfall Swing in one month for the 2011 Bay Area Maker Faire starting with construction in Brooklyn, NY then Cleveland, OH and completing in Oakland, CA with help from friends all along the way.
We got our big break when a video that I shot went viral on YouTube through a post on Reddit made by my friend Micke Kazarnowicz. That lead to the Waterfall Swing being part of a Honda Civic commercial which lead to an appearance on the TODAY Show on Rockefeller Plaza.
I hold US Patent 20110312430 on the Waterfall Swing along with Mike O'Toole.
The newest Waterfall Swing is a four person, 40' wide version designed by Mike O'Toole that also has a wheelchair platform. It debuted in Australia at the 2015 Sydney Festival.
A looping GIF a fan made from a video I shot at the World Maker Faire, New York Hall of Science.
Watch our interview with STUDIO, Australia's arts channel, about the Waterfall Swing at Sydney Festival.
Waterfall Swing at night at Darling Harbour for Sydney Festival 2015.
Photo by Sierra Bell.
Ian Charnas, Andrew Ratcliff, Mike O'Toole and Jon Isbell give the first push for the opening of the Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour for Sydney Festival.
Photo by Sierra Bell.
Wheelchair rider using the platform on the Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour for Sydney Festival.
Photo by havewheelchairwilltravel.net
Construction of the Waterfall Swing at Darling Harbour for Sydney Festival.
Press confernece for the opening of the Waterfall Swing at Sydney Festival.
Photos from the Waterfall Swing installation at Darling Harbour for Sydney Festival.
Matt Lauer & Savannah Guthrie ride the Waterfall Swing on the TODAY Show on Rockefeller Plaza.
The Waterfall Swing is featured in this ad for the Honda Civic.
J McDonald & Ian Charnas testing an early version of the Waterfall Swing.
Photo by Paul Sobota.
Dale Dougherty, founder of Make, in his TED talk We are Makers. He talks about the Waterfall Swing around 02:06 minute mark.
More photos and videos, including my favorite, are available here.
Mural & Sign Work
This body of work transforms five utilitarian rollgates into vibrant street-level canvases that bring daily encounters with color and pattern to the residents of Long Island City. Each gate becomes a moment of unexpected beauty in the functional infrastructure of city streets. Through horizontal striping, these works create art that greets pedestrians as part of their everyday experience.
Photo by Steven Speliotis
Warm gradient stripes inspired by craft beer's rich spectrum—from pale golden wheat ales to deep mahogany stouts—creates art that honors the brewing tradition at the Rockaway Brewing Company happening at this site.
Colorblind (Love LIC) two panel rollgate mural for PLAXALL in Long Island City, NY. Inspired by the Ishihara test for color perception, the dots combine to create a heart on one panel, and “LIC” on the other.
For Circle Trinity, I was inspired by St Mary church across the street and the circles that make up the Tuk Tuk logo. The three arrows represent the holy trinity.
A vintage look sign I designed from archived print materials for Plaxall, Inc in Long Island City, NY.
Signs on metal door and rollgate at CrossFit Gantry in Long Island City, Queens, NY.
Trio of murals at CrossFit Gantry.
Hand painted sign for my friends at Dolce Brooklyn for their new shop on Sackett St in Carroll Gardens.
Rollgate sign at CrossFit Virtuosity in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.
Interior mural at CrossFit Virtuosity. Design by Inna Aizenshtein.
Sign on a brick interior wall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for Brooklyn Barbell Club.
Exterior sign and interior mural at CrossFit Red Hook. Hand painted on brick. Photo by @mau_quiros.
Mural I designed for Movement Brooklyn based on their logo.
Hand painted logo on interior handstand wall for Movement Brooklyn.
Sign on brick exterior of Nowhere Studios, Brooklyn, NY.
Sign refresh for Movers, Not Shakers in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Logo on rollgate for Bushwick Food Coop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY.
Water Arch
The idea for the Water Arch came from "feed" which was the theme of the Ingenuity Festival for which I developed the prototype. Twin towers, unconnected, each feed and consume a stream of laminar water so smooth and glassy that the streams appear to be curved rods of glass. Moving laminar streams out of the confines of a fountain makes them accessible and interactive tempting viewers to touch them and discover they are made of rapidly moving water and not glass.
Family interacting with the Water Arch.
Woman interacting with laminar water jets.
Swimming Cities of the Ocean of Blood
I am a member of the Swimming Cities art collective and traveled 500 miles down the Ganges River from Farrukhabad to Varanasi on a motorcycle powered boat. My involvement was primarily in India where I managed part of the final construction of the boats. On the river, I was second in command of the Mary O, one of the five boats. Read about our preparations in The New Yorker.
Video by Benjamin Mortimer
This video of two of the boats navigating under a bridge will give you an idea of what it was like to navigate the Ganges on pontoon boats.
