Jan 17, 2015: The Water Tank Project

What: Walkabout looking at The Water Tank Project tanks
Where: Manhattan, NY
Cost:  Free!
Summary:  Look up!  There might be art up there!

With friends in town, and a beautiful (if perhaps a little chilly) day, yesterday was the perfect day to grab my camera and go admire some of the new art work going up around New York. And by going “up” around New York I really mean UP. For this art is for The Water Tank Project (thewatertankproject.org). It’s a project that covers various water tanks on the roofs of buildings (thus the “up”) with artwork in order to bring awareness to the world water crisis.

So, with a map in hand of where various tanks were, we set off. And what a wonderful time out in New York we had! And we loved the tanks. Very cool.

 

1. Palomino Takes a Wave

We started our journey in Union Square. Look up! HOW CUTE IS THIS GUY! When we saw this one, the sun was almost directly behind the tank so pictures were hard, but I do think he looks like he’s having such a fun time in the water.

2. Jordi Fornies

Not too far from the tank above was another one. In fact, the picture below was taken crossing the street from Union Square.

And, in case you missed it…

See! They’re easy to miss, but if you pay attention, there are beautiful things up there!

3. Bacteria

This one was kind of funny. We knew the address but couldn’t for the life of us fine a good place to see it; we walked up and down several blocks, crossed the street, did our best to get the best angle.

Then, after doing what we could, we walked further up Broadway, heading to our next tank. It was then that we turned around. And went…oh! And I just love HOW prominent this is when seen from the right angle!

As for the design itself, it’s not as cute as a puppy surfing, but it’s colorful! lol

4. (untitled pink one)

It was off to the far west side, an area that is still somewhat industrial, though it’s experiencing a resurgence of construction. This was the first one we encountered. A splash of color in a sea of brick.

5. Current & 6. The Love Doll

While the next two could be seen from street level, they were really best experienced from The Highline. I loved the view from the stair case up to the Highline. New construction on the right, construction on the left, the Hudson in the background, a clear blue sky. And… never forget to look up.

They really are quite unexpected and in that way fun and thought inspiring.

(though, I must admit, this one looks a little bit creepy…)

7. NEW

This one was my absolute favorite. Because it was unplanned. We had visited all the tanks we were going to visit for the day and decided to walk home along the Highline. But, as we approached the end, I (following my own advice), happened to look up. And look what I saw!

So fun to have this little bonus to our trip. And the website (as of this blog) just list this location as “coming soon”, so I feel like I got a scoop, too!! :)

I’m hoping next weekend the weather is nice so I can visit the rest of the tanks. And I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for new ones, as well. Thanks, The Water Tank Project for a fun little treasure hunt of sorts.