The East River is not only home to tagged up turtles, but dead bodies, and starting this summer, man-made waterfalls as well. Artist Olafur Eliasson created this Pier 35 contraption which, along with three others at the Brooklyn Bridge, Governors Island and below Brooklyn Heights, will start gushing water sometime in July. Circle Line will be operating “special in depth tours” of the waterfalls, but you can also avoid tourists and check them out from the shoreline and East River bridges for free.

Craigslist is pretty much the one-stop spot for everything you could possibly want: new apartments, better jobs, sketchy “massages”, drunk clowns, cheap bikes, or weirdos as crazy as you are. It’s not surprising then that this is where a 4 foot tall, 80 pound metal sculpture by REVS turns up after being ripped right off the street. We’ve got no love for the collectors (read: assholes) who jack REVS sculptures from the street, but it’s hard to understand why they wouldn’t hold on to this after the trouble of prying one loose.

Just 1500 bones and this baby is yours.

When REVS says, “I like people that just do what they do, whether it makes sense or it don’t” he’s describing himself and the persistence with which he’s made his name across the city. Whether pasting COST & REVS across the city, painting giant on rooftops, recording his life story on the subway tunnels, or welding metal sculptures on the street, REVS has consistently innovated with the biggest and baddest work in New York City. If anything doesn’t make sense, it’s that he’s kept the mystery all these years, while others sell sneakers, t-shirts and videos.

In the NY Times article by Randy Kennedy, REVS said, “Once money changes hands for art, it becomes a fraudulent activity.” Clearer copies of the photos we provided for that article can be seen here and here. Soon after the story ran, most of the sculptures pictured disappeared. Consider that as you watch REVS installing one of his metal sculptures, the 400 pound, Teenage Piece.

For the past few years somebody has been building driftwood sculptures along the Hudson River in Riverside Park. The sculptures, held together with pieces of string or only their weight, often appear between 100th and 130th Streets along the rocky shore. And like any good street art or graffiti in New York City, the sculptures are dismantled almost as soon as they go up. The New York Times picked up the story in 2005, but still nobody really knows who is behind the sculptures, only that freezing temperatures don’t stop this creative spirit.

Check out more images of the sculptures here, here, and here.

We love the furry antler bike and all, but Jenny Nordberg might have it beat with King of the Road. With a crocheted seat, all wood frame, and moose antler handlebars (that’s at least six different hand positions by our count), it deserves the name even if wouldn’t last on the streets. Still though, step up your game, New York City!

Last week, the Brooklyn Paper reported on a curious roadblock that appeared overnight on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Painted fluorescent green and standing seven feet tall, it was a study in contrasts to the ugly grey jersey barriers we’re used to. Different still, it was not meant to stop traffic, but to slow the traffic that’s increased and killed one woman since Fairway supermarket opened last year.

The installation reminded us immediately of David Engwicht’s atypical traffic calming techniques like the Street Reclaiming Throne. These “mental speed bumps” use intrigue and uncertainty to catch the attention of drivers, causing them to slow down to take a better look. And because drivers will eventually get used to the sight of a man holding an umbrella in a giant purple upholstered chair or kids playing on the sidewalk, he advocates more permanent ways to slow cars like perceptively narrowing the street width.

A source close to the artist said he is planning more installations. For more inspiration, check out Michael Konrad’s rolling jersey barrier, 2 Tons of “Take That!” (on wheels).

Photo by The Brooklyn Paper / Chris Curen.

Kids are climbing up the walls for Leon Reid’s most recent project, in which Leon (aka Darius Jones) worked with students in Inwood to produce life-sized body doubles, complete with school uniforms. Once finished, Leon installed the sculptures along the ceiling of the main hallway where they’re chasing books in “The Pursuit of Knowledge.”

Photo via Wooster Collective.

Street artist, Brad Downey hit the streets yesterday with a couple brand new sculptures. Thanks to Tod Seelie for sharing the photos and a harrowing moment while riding along for the installation.

Things got off to a rocky start when the first piece (a three-headed phone sign) bounced out of the back of the truck in the middle of the Pulaski Bridge. Luckily the car behind us was able to swerve out of the way in time (some true knucklehead business).

The pieces are up, so check them out yourself. Tod provides the exact locations in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens.

When we saw Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror unveiling in September, we figured we’d be back to check it out in its unobstructed glory. In truth, one slightly obscured look was enough.

In comparison to his sculpture, The Bean (or Cloud Gate for purists), in Chicago’s Millenium Park, Sky Mirror is a disappointment. While one can touch, walk through, and interact indefinitely with the Bean, Sky Mirror allows for nothing after studying its two angles and admiring 30 Rockefeller Plaza upside down. Forget playing with the reflected perspectives of the sculpture. Only through a telephoto lens can one get close enough to Sky Mirror to recognize their reflection. It’s telling that the Bean’s cloudiness is the result of greasy finger tips, while the Sky Mirror’s murkiness is only the result of construction flaws.

The Sky Mirror comes down tomorrow, October 27th. Unlike the Gates of 2006, it will not live on as cheap promotional swag.