I Heart-With-Arrow Seattle Fountain

As made totally obvious by my blog banner, the International Fountain at Seattle Center is one of my favorites.



It may not be featured on as many mugs or key chains or t-shirts as its more lofty sibling (or in as many Grey’s Anatomy helicopter-establishing shots), but I’d argue that this revamped Modernist classic rivals the Space Needle as the go-to Seattle experience.

A little history: The fountain was originally designed for the 1962 World’s Fair by Japanese architects Hideki Shimizu and Kazuyuki Matsushita. (The contemporaneous Space Needle, designed by Victor Steinbrueck, hogged most of the attention.) Decades later the fountain fell into disrepair and was revamped by landscape designers Kenichi Nakano and the fountain company WET Design (of Fountains of Bellagio fame).

Then and Now:



The 1962 design had a spiky, amoebic charm. But the 1995 stainless-steel version, as well as having improved choreography, opened up the bowl to visitors. And the rounder, more pleasing shape recalls an umbrella—though one apparently at cross purposes with itself in that it generates its own rain. And fog.

How would I categorize this one? A hybrid of modern statuary and pool-free—and seeing as how the water display is preprogrammed, with a dash of robot or animated fountain tossed in.

It is really a delight to take a seat on the edge and people-watch forever. And when the sun is out, fountain rainbows are common. In recent times, some friendly benches have cropped up around the perimeter, courtesy the Seattle Rep. A couple of the better ones:

Holy Crap

Looks like I'll be booking a ticket to Dubai at some point before I die, if not next year:



Learn more about the biggest fountain in the world here.

Waterfall or Folly?

I really should hold my tongue until I see Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls installation in person, but I've been reading some surprisingly negative comments online and on the NYT city room page—that the project is ugly, underwhelming, a waste of resources, looks like Brooklyn Bridge taking a piss, etc.—and judging from the photos, the water flow does look a bit scant. I imagined it would be more substantial and majestic, less wispy.























Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

But the waterfalls are reportedly beautiful at night and at dawn, so I'll just have to see them for myself. And I absolutely love the concept of an ephemeral installation that is up for 3 months, then gone forever. I plan to be in NYC sometime before they are shut down in October. I will report back.

In the meantime, some links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/arts/design/27wate.html

http://updateslive.blogspot.com/2008/06/land-art-waterfalls-of-new-york.html

www.nycwaterfalls.com

No Diving, Please

Today: POOL-FREE FOUNTAINS

There's got to be a better name for this kind of fountain, I know, one that doesn't make me want to take a nap. But I can't think of one right now. "Dry" fountain doesn't really work, because I'd like to make a distinction between fountains without pools and fountains that are literally desiccated, either from neglect or in serving as self-sacrificing symbols of drought.

Pool-free fountains use jets that erupt directly from the ground or in some cases from sculpture. The absence of a pool or basin often means that there is no "moat" between viewer and fountain, and people (often children) are free to play in the water, as in this fountain in Aspen, Colorado:





As you can see above, water drains through a grate, but there are many pool-free fountains where the water drains through artful spaces in the pavement or stone. This checkerboard fountain below, which dominates a public square in Kansas City, Missouri, is one example:



Crown Center Fountain, Kansas City, Missouri

Detail:








Another classic pool-free example can be found in downtown L.A. at the Music Center, with a crowning sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz. I can't find a photo of it at the moment, but will post one as soon as I come across it.

Fountain or Bird Bath?

This is a common type of statuary fountain, a simple tiered design meant to enliven a shopping alley on Catalina Island. There's nothing particularly wrong with it (aside from some exposed plumbing, visible bottom left), and this little alley would certainly be the worse without it. It's just…fine, is all.



These pigeons disagree. They say this is the best fountain in the world.



Coming up: Fountains without Pools

So Very Thirsty

If there is anything more disappointing than finding a dry drinking fountain when you're dying of thirst, I can't think of it right now.

This is a bad drinking fountain I encountered recently. There is even some water at the bottom of the basin, hinting at the water that might have quenched my parched throat. Though it could just be urine.

I, Fountain

Today: Robot fountains!
Well, animated fountains is probably the better word.
Today: ANIMATED (or Robot!) FOUNTAINS























Animated fountains go beyond "ordinary" fountains in that they use pumps and clever machinery to move water in unusual ways. Often the water is choreographed ahead of time to move in a specific way at a designated time.

Unlike statuary fountains, animated fountains tend to have water as the primary focus. Water isn't just the stuff pouring out of an urn or cherub's mouth, water is the star of the show. Lighting and music might be used to theatrical effect, though water may also perform without accompanying music.

Animated fountains have been around for a while in different forms, as early as the 17th century as far as I can tell, but it's only relatively recently that they've moved past sheer novelty (and some silliness) toward more sophisticated and technologically adept presentations.

Fountains like those at the Bellagio in Vegas use a high level of computer programming and underwater robotics to achieve the desired effect. The same people who made the Bellagio fountains also did this fountain at the Americana mall in Glendale, California:





What you can't see in these photos is the accompanying music, which depending on your timing might be Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, or Barry White.

I took these last weekend seconds before I was chased away by a security guard. I guess if you look like a competent photographer, and not just a tourist, they get nervous. Maybe I should be flattered.