Fête Paradiso, World’s First Festival of Vintage French Carnival Rides and Carousels

Fête Paradiso, the world's first festival of vintage French carnival rides and carousels, made its American debut on Governor's Island last Saturday. The collection includes attractions from the late 19th and early 20th century, including carousels, flying swings and a pipe organ. Some of the rides are for display only. The Velocipedes is a favorite ride for visitors and quite appropriate for Governor's Island being a "biking oasis" of the city. A bumper car pavilion from 1900 has been transformed into a beer garden, and French carnival-inspired food items are also available. Organizers here say the carousel was the first "social networks," and interestingly enough, they say they were originally designed just for adults. Carousels for families came later. The rides are $3 each. The Governors Island ferry ride is free from the Maritime Building in Battery Park and from Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6. The festival is open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 6:30 PM from July 13 – September 29.

Biking On Governors Island

Governors Island is a small piece of land in New York Harbor situated close to the southern tip of Manhattan. Historically, Governor's Island was the exclusive province of the British colony's royal governors. It was an isolated piece of land off-limits to commoners and reserved for those of privilege. Soon after American Independence in the late 18th Century the site became home to a U.S. Army base and later a Coast Guard installation. In 2003, control of the island was transferred back to the City of New York and the Governors Island National Monument was established. The island is a free five-minute ferry ride from downtown New York, a seasonal retreat that offers visitors a wealth of unique activities, art installations, beautiful vistas and fascinating history. The island is also ideal for bike riding. The site boasts over five miles of car-free bike trails winding past mansions, spectacular views of the New York Harbor such as those captured above, and quiet green spaces sparsely populated with visitors. Bike rental shops are available on the island including Bike Rentals that used one of my photos of the New York harbor in their advertisements. Governors Island is open every Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Monday (Memorial Day and Labor Day) through September 29 (from 10 AM to 7 PM).

Head In The Clouds - Cloud Pavilion Made of Recycled Water Bottles On Governor's Island

Head in the Clouds is the winning entry to a competition sponsored by the non-profit interactive art organization FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architect Committee (ENYA), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY). The competition brief reads: “If we imagine a future New York City where anything is possible, what would it look like?" The design and architecture firm, STUDIOKCA created the winning submission based on the idea that a city of dreams needs dreamers, and those dreamers will need a place to put their head in the clouds to dream up great ideas. Installed on Governor's Island, the pavilion is made of 53,780 recycled water bottles (close to the amount thrown away in New York City within one hour). It is a space filled with light as well as music that visitors can enjoy. 

Pop Dogs

Pop Dogs is a mobile installation from artist Carlo Sampietro that takes the traditional popcorn machine and replaces its edible content with stuffed dog toys. Sampietro uses this project as a visual language to discuss the global issue of dog overpopulation. It was at Governor's Island as part of the annual FIGMENT, a participatory art event that took place last Saturday and Sunday within ferry distance of Manhattan.

Much like a popcorn machine left unattended, more dogs are bred daily throughout the world than can be properly cared for. The installation was inspired by the abandoned dogs Sampietro saw during his travels. Compared to the street dogs of Brazil, NYC dogs are pampered like children. The piece is designed to explore the contradiction that what we crave can become undesirable. 

"Living Pavilion," Planted Milk Crate Art Installation on Governor's Island

This is the LIVING PAVILION, installed on Governor's Island for the entire summer season. The installation is the winner of the City of Dreams Pavilion Competition 2010, and is designed by Ann Ha and Behrang Behin. The competition sponsors (FIGMENT, The Emerging New York Architects Committee of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (ENYA), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY)) worked with the winning team to have the Living Pavilion on Governors Island for the summer season.

Ann Ha and Behrang Behin of Living Pavilion imagine a future in which nature is brought back into the city – not replacing its dense vitality, but adding some ‘green’ to the mix. Technologies such as green roofs and green walls will reduce heat-island effect and mitigate storm water runoff. Urban farms will provide nutritious locally grown produce to urban dwellers while making them more aware of where their food comes from. These developments will not only have a positive impact on the city’s environmental footprint, but will also enrich the lives of New Yorkers: they will add a new dimension to the urban experience, making possible new forms of spatial and architectural expression.

Living Pavilion is a low-tech, low-impact installation that employs milk crates as the framework for growing planted surface similar to a green wall. Living Pavilion aspires to create a synthesis of form, structure, light and life. The pavilion’s surface is planted with hanging shade-tolerant plants that will provide an environment maintained at a cooler temperature because of evapotranspiration from the plants. At the end of the season, the pavilion’s modular design will allow easy disassembly and distribution of the planted milk crates to the New York area for use in homes, public places, and community gardens.

Ann Ha received a Master in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2008 and also holds a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida. Her GSD thesis, entitled Reinterpreting Governors Island, envisioned a strategy for adaptive reuse of the historic structures on the island by integrating landscape and architecture at different scales. She has worked at several U.S. architecture firms, including Single Speed Design, Maryann Thompson Architects, Marpillero Pollak Architects, and currently Workshop for Architecture.

Behrang Behin is trained as an engineer and architect, and takes an interdisciplinary, synthetic approach to design. He received a Master in Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2008, after which he continued as an Aga Khan Fellow to study the intersection of technology, architecture, and sustainable urbanism. He has worked on international projects at several U.S. design firms, including Office dA, Hashim Sarkis A.L.U.D., REX, and currently Ennead Architects. Behrang also holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a B.S. in Applied Physics from Yale.

(Information from figmentproject.org)

FIGMENT Art Festival 2010 on Governors Island

"Temple of Wonder" by Jen Upchurch, Douglas Hart and Bryan Cates

Designed in the shape of a three-dimensional star looking up to the sky, Temple Of Wonder is intended as a place of exploration, contemplation, reflection, and personal expression. Visitors are encouraged to walk through and sit down at its center, and interact with the temple’s structure by leaving contributions of art, messages, and other ephemera for public viewing on its wooden walls. Temple of Wonder asks the audience to respond to the questions ‘What does the future hold for us?’ and ‘What is it like to be in your own star?’ Temple of Wonder inspires visitors to interact with each other and marvel, be curious – be a star in their own way. As participants leave the temple, their silhouettes appear to leak from the corner of the eye like their own shining star. Following its installation on the island, the interactive elements of the project will transfer from the artists to the visitors who will react to, transform, and change the space in a more personal way.

"Process" by Travis Mong

580 interlocking pieces that each spin freely on their own axis, in colors that are visually pleasing and stunning at the same time. A visitor, or the wind for that matter, can spin one to all pieces of Process, transforming the piece at will to seemingly infinite possibilities. The visitor thus creates an abstract work of art – a color field. Process is a three dimensional piece that is viewed in a perceived two dimensional perspective. It exists between the tangible 3D object and the representational and illusionistic space of a painting. Much like our own cognitive process it embodies both perceived truth and tangible knowledge. It represents and conveys a shared experience the world over.

"1000 Pieces" by Animus Art Collective

The installation of 1000 Pieces – essentially a gazebo – is initially a simple rectangular wooden structure with seating around the perimeter and a roof atop four posts. Running up the height of the vertical posts are pieces of notched plywood. Inside the gazebo, on shelves mounted onto the posts, are stacks of square plywood pieces, also notched. The artwork evolves throughout the summer as passers-by become participants, taking a few pieces off the shelves and connecting them to the structure. Thus, a simple wooden gazebo will appear to be blossoming into color during the summer months. ANIMUS proposes that workshops be held and led by their members in two New York City public schools. The sculptures created by the students will be fastened on top of the structure to serve as the ‘crown’ and ‘chandelier’ of the gazebo. 1000 Pieces will create an environment that instigates a dynamic relationship between the participant and the object, and between the participants themselves.

Video from the 2009 Figment Art Festival

These are a few of the interactive artworks on exhibit on Governor's Island as part of FIGMENT NYC Art Festival, an annual celebration of participatory art and culture. The event features an abundance of creativity and passion, challenging artists and communities to find ways to create, share, think and dream. (Video and Captions from Figment Project)

Unicycle Festival On Governor's Island

The main event of the three-day NYC Unicycle Festival took place on Governors Island on September 4.  From noon to 5 pm people were able to enjoy rolling on one wheel in an automobile-free area, attempt unicycling for the first time, participate in games of unicycle basketball and hockey, and witness some of the most daring feats imagined by legends in the mono cycle world. New York City is already home to the New York Unicycle Club (biweekly meetings at Grant's Tomb), the King Charles Troupe (the most famous unicycle troupe in the world), and most recently, the NYC Unicycle Bridge Tour.  The growing popularity of this quirky pastime, combined with the city's initiatives to encourage cycling, make this a timely opportunity for a celebration of the unicycle.  (source: newyork.going.com)