One of my favorite events in Austin has returned! The annual Waterloo Greenway Creek Show (formerly Waller Creek Show), is back with six new, electric installations meant to dazzle onlookers by night.
Although I missed the media preview, I was able to check out the free exhibition early this week. I was even able to get the inside scoop on the building process and inspiration behind two of the installations from the designers themselves. Read on for the Q & A.
Interested in attending? The show will run now through November 17 from 6 pm to 10 pm nightly.
Waterloo Creek Show Q&A
Will Powell, 1909B, on creating AURORA
What’s one thing you want people to know about this art installation?
We built everything ourselves without the aid of any professional fabricators. Our team is an eclectic mix of architects, designers, and engineers so having the opportunity to build the installation from the ground up was an exciting challenge. We did everything from teaching ourselves to weld, to soldering an absurd number of wiring connections, to building the computer which controls the lights, to writing the code which generates their evolving patterns.
What’s your favorite piece of the art installation and what was your inspiration behind it?
I am particularly pleased with how we were able to use procedural generation to bring the creek to life with shifting fields of light and sound. This effect is the combined product of creative coding and a synthesized soundscape reacting in real-time to inputs from the site. We were inspired by the blurred distinctions between nature and infrastructure which exist within the creek and wanted to amplify that tension.
What do you hope people will take away from this art installation?
We want to challenge people’s notions of Waller Creek. A big part of what Waterloo Greenway is trying to do each year with Creek Show is present the potential of Waller Creek as an urban greenway within Austin. While most of the installations look towards various idealized futures for the creek we want to invite visitors to look at the creek as it exists now: a complex and often uncomfortable joining of public greenspace and derelict infrastructure.
Lindsay Abati, AIA, Nelsen Partners, on creating The Ghost Boat
What’s one thing you want people to know about this art installation?
The goal of the Ghost Boat was to provide an immersive experience that captivates all of your senses. The creation of an Austin folk tale was another element that we hope inspires contemplation of the role that Waller Creek has played in our city’s history, bridging the past and the present.
What’s your favorite piece of the art installation and what was your inspiration behind it?
We believe that the synergy between the sound, light, fog, and movement is what makes The Ghost Boat so exciting, so it’s hard to isolate just one piece. But if we had to pick one, the paddles are the origin of The Ghost Boat. We think they capture the essence of Austin’s outdoor culture and represent our passion for the water. Their repetition and skeletal composition also add to the overall ghostliness of the piece.
What do you hope people will take away from this art installation?
Water is such an important part of what makes Austin a great place to live and we wanted to remind people that, even though you need a ghost boat to paddle down Waller Creek, it is still a vital and beautiful part of our city. We hope that this event and our installation inspires people to stay engaged in the development of Waterloo Park and appreciate the natural resources all around us!
Information
Website: Waterloo Greenway Org
When: November 6 -17, 2019; 6– 10 p.m.
Where: 700 E 9th St, Austin, TX 78701 – between 9th and 12th streets
Tell Me Everything
Have you been to the Waterloo Creek Show this year? What was your favorite installation?