Urban Green Art: Nobuho Nagasawa

Columbia Waterfront Public Art Dedication

COLUMBIA WATERFRONT DISTRICT, BROOKLYN

Photo Credit:  Rafi Magnes

Nobuho Nagasawa stands beside her etching of a 

Sweet Gum Tree at Columbia St. near Baltic St.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) announces the public art dedication of TIMECAST by artist Nobuho Nagasawa on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 in the Columbia Waterfront District.  Nagasawa’s art was commissioned in 2004 by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs under its Percent for Art Program and the NYC Department of Transportation as part of the Columbia Street Reconstruction project, which included the Columbia Street segment of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Nagasawa received an Excellence in Design Award for TIMECAST from the City of New York Art Commission in 2007.

According to the artist, “The shadow of six trees was precisely traced at a certain time of the day on the sidewalk, and became visible as permanent silhouettes on the sidewalk. These tree silhouettes were sandblasted in the bluestone, which is not only quarried in New York, but has been used historically as a paving stone in this neighborhood, as well as in landmarked locations, such as around the New York Public Library and Bryant Park.

She continued, “I wanted the shadows to be literally ‘set in stone,’ and to appear as ‘jewels’ set in time, and to give the impression of time frozen, which is a historical record. Since the trees will not continue to cast the same shadows as they grow taller, the shadows will become fixed markers by which the effects of time on the streetscape become apparent as the years pass. The name of each tree and the date of each shadow tracing were sandblasted into the bluestone along with silhouette itself, identifying a moment and leaving a historical mark.”

The public is invited to the dedication event on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 from 1:00PM-3:30PM. The dedication ceremony will commence at 1:00PM sharp, followed by a walking tour of the six installations from 1:30PM-2:30PM. A reception for the artist will follow at a private local residence.  RSVPs are strongly recommended, as space is limited for the dedication and reception.  Check in at BGI’s office, located at 153 Columbia Street between Kane Street and Degraw Street, from 12:30-12:45PM. Please RSVP no later than Friday, May 18th at 12:00PM to art@brooklyngreenway.org and include the full names of all guests.