Water Art: Guest Post by Len Albright

The Circumnavigation of Old Manhattan by Duke Riley

Today we're delighted to kick off the new year with a guest blog post from Len Albright, a Philadelphia-based sociologist, writer, fisherman, urban explorer, and good friend. Len and Dolan met in their college days at James Madison University and together have lost many a night's sleep on the hunt for striped bass, relics from Chicago's dumpsters, and rooftop access to abandoned buildings across the US. Len is currently completing his dissertation on affordable housing in New Jersey, the research supported by the US Department of Housing and the MacArthur Foundation (more info here). Thanks, Len, for sharing these amazing artists with us. If you'd like to share a story or some of your favorite artists or crafters with our blog readers, please contact us.

Whenever I visit a new city, friends usually ask, "What do you want to see first? The museums, the university, the shopping district?" Invariably my response is, "I'd like to see water." In a central square filled with bustling traffic and crowded sidewalks, they look at me quizzically to ask, "Water?" In places like Seattle or Chicago this as an easy challenge; waterfront vistas are plentiful. But in other cities, finding a way to water is a bit like a treasure hunt. Even when you can find a river, gaining access to it can be extremely difficult. Meandering streams curl behind factories, tire piles, and junkyards. Rivers flow into power plants and wastewater treatment facilities. Getting down to the water to skip a stone or look for fish involves scampering down highway overpasses and scurrying under chain linked fences. Moving water in cities flows quietly, its tone drowned out by the swirling of commerce and industry. Increasingly however, city dwellers are turning their focus towards water. Urban planners are recognizing the vitality that riverfronts can bring to places and are reorienting city plans. Political activists are rallying for clean drinking water and healthy ecosystems. Thrill seekers are grabbing kayaks and surfboards and riding inner-city waves. At the edge of many of these movements, in the backwaters of the urban environment, artists are also turning towards water. Their work not only calls attention to these hidden treasures, but they inspire our curiosity about the forces that shape the ways our cities look and feel. In addition, many of these artists are rekindling centuries old crafts of boat building and navigation to reach urban waterways. Here we spotlight some of our favorite artists who are looking for and finding water in their cities.

Marie Lorenz is a Brooklyn based artist whose Tide and Current Taxi follows the natural flow of water around New York City to explore its history.

Her findings include boat graveyards...

Sometime she finds people who are catching their dinner. Here is Klaus Walters catching blue crabs to eat in the Bronx.

Hidden tunnels..

Peaceful estuaries

And crumbling castles..

Duke Riley is an illustrator and explorer who most recently discovered the lost kingdom of Ralston Laird. After much kayaking, grave rubbing, and writing to Hugo Chavez, Riley helped to reclaim the kingdom for it's rightful rules.

Kingdom of Laird.

Grave rubbing.

Artist Swoon and the Swimming Cities have created boat based installations to explore the waters of New York City and Venice, and will soon navigate the Ganges for Kumbha Mela.

The Miss Rockaway Armada is a lose collective of artists and adventures who undertook a three year journey down the Mississippi River ala Huck Finn. Build a raft out of trash and see where it can take you! But their raft looked little like trash. Instead it included a a working solar energy system, gardens, and a trapeze.

What water is near you and what secrets can it uncover?