WATERTOWER, 2012 by Tom Fruin

Newly decorating Brooklyn's skyline is Tom Fruin’s kaleidoscopic WATERTOWER. The 25 foot by 10 foot tall structure stands atop the roof of 20 Jay Street along the East River waterfront, and can be viewed from the streets of DUMBO, FDR Drive, the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge, and Lower Manhattan. Scheduled to be on display for one year (now through June 2013), the tower was created from almost 1,000 multicolored Plexiglas pieces that the artist salvaged from places around New York, including Build It Green!NYC’s warehouse in Astoria.

During the day, the sun shines through the glass to illuminate the tower. When the sun descends at night, an Aruduino controlled light show within the tower, designed by Ryan Holsopple, casts brilliant light shadows throughout the night sky.

The WATERTOWER is the fourth work of Fruin’s Icon series, which according to his website, “features scavenged, reclaimed, and recycled materials constructed into sculptural tributes to architectural icons around the world, from the obelisco of Buenos Aires, to the kolonihavehuse of Copenhagen." Though it is not a true functioning piece, the display can be seen as a salute to New York’s iconic watertowers.  This public sculpture is supported in part thought a Build It Green!NYC BIG!Gives Back materials grant, a Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Grant, and The Richard J. Massey Foundation for Arts and Sciences.

Photos by Robert Banat.

This article was written by BIG!NYC Summer Intern, Casey W.