Speaking from San Francisco this is a little weak. Of course, I'm not going to be able to see it up close and in person, but from clips and pictures I really don't see how it's much different than almost any other civic fountain. The use of scaffolding does take away any magical aspects. It makes it look, well, not particularly designed. It makes it look more like the idea was just to get a waterfall going as quickly, cheaply, and easily as possible. This reveals, to me at least, that water falling on it's own isn't particularly interesting. It's all about the context that it's occurring in and the surrounding area. This makes the scaffolding more of a detriment and the surrounding area is... well, under a bridge? What looks like a light industrial area? Not too spectacular to be honest.

Is it over yet?

Can't it be both?

Underwhelming or overhyped?

I'm going with the latter.

Yeah, it's not a surprise here that pipes and scaffolding cannot adequately mimic what takes nature millions of gallons of water to produce in most cases.

I guess we should just stick to what we know - destroying nature.

:|

Lamest idea ever. At least cover up the metal to blend it into the landscape. This is the worst exhibit since the Gates in Central Park.

meh.

This art piece is not beautiful/charming, and as such, isn't art.

If only they used public money instead of corporate money, because then more people could complain about 'wasting' money.

Oh wait, it wasn't your money to begin with...

Unimaginative up close and from a distance. Considering the thought, energy, time and money that went into the project, you would think it would knock people on their ass, not make them yawn.

This is proof that the ingenuity of man dwarves the marvel of Nature. I'll never look at my showerhead the same way again.

Behold, man's greatest piss-inducing machine.

this looks like a ride at six flags or a stage at sea world...really a waste of money

It totally looks like a pipe broke at the top of a construction site. I think this is piss poor.

... um... and...?

Okay, maybe the front views are cool, but the back and side views look kinda lame...too bad you basically need to be on a boat to really see any of them the right way.

Maybe it would be better up close, but seeing it from the N train this morning...not that impressive.

this is a bit underwhelming, but at least it doesn't detract from the city and the vibe. it's not even remotely as interesting as the gates, but at least someone is choosing to try. within a week everyone will take it for granted, and it will be a part of the city's palette.

One a positive environmental note, it is adding to the dissolved oxygen content of the East River. Aerating the water is good for the fish.

I definitely felt a little underwhelmed this morning.

I have to say, I was surprised that even Jake

admitted to feeling underwhelmed.

you can definitely see all four falls, but for the two in Brooklyn, you're seeing them at sort of a weird angle, from behind.

Seems odd to me that they couldn't create it so that water is flowing from all sides of the scaffolding. I suppose doing from one side only is okay for the one under the bridge, but for the ones where the scaffolding is visible, it is distracting, and really undermines the visual impact of the whole thing.

“mmHello?”

“Yes, is Olafur Eliasson available?”

“Whom may I say is calling?”

“It's anticlimactic.”

“One moment please.”

“Olafurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... phone!”