Let's Begin
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- Completion Date: June 2003
- Artists: Harries/Heder Collaborative, Inc. with Steve Martino
- Location: Arizona Canal at G.R. Herberger Park, 56th Street & Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ
- Materials: Water, land, sandstone, planting, metal
- Description:Arizona Falls, formed by a natural 20-foot drop along the Arizona Canal between what is now 56th and 58th streets, reopened in June 2003 as a restored hydroelectric plant and neighborhood gathering place where visitors can learn, interact and reflect. The new Arizona Falls combines art, history and technology to generate clean electricity from the canal's waterfall. The main entrance is on the south side; a footbridge connects the north bank to the viewing platform. Visitors, surrounded by water on three walls in the water room, may sit on large boulders as they enjoy the cool and soothing sounds of flowing water. Through sheets of flowing water, the antique gears used in the original hydroelectric plant can be seen. Two aqueducts frame the room to create the feeling of being inside the historic waterfall. A shade structure covers stone block seats near a pool of water, allowing visitors to enjoy the experience year-round. Read more.
- Funding: This project was made possible by SRP, the Phoenix Arts Commission and the Arcadia neighborhood.
- Photos:
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What We'll Learn
- Navigating to Waterworks at Arizona Falls using a GPS receiver
- Read the signs describing this artwork.
- Explore the main entrance.
- Describe what you see.
- Why does the roof of the shade area feature circles of light and electric light bulbs?
- What medium is used to create this shade structure?
- Now walk across the footbridge to the viewing platform?
- Describe what you see.
- Make a total circle. What else did you see as you turned around on the viewing platform?
- How does Waterworks at Arizona Falls combines art, history and technology?
- What is "art" of this artwork?
- Is it always possible to see the "art" of this artwork? Why or why not?
- What is unusual about this artwork?
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- Now walk down to the lower level
- Describe what you see.
- How does your perception of this artwork change when you view it from the lower level?
- If you have a camera, take a pictures of the features of this artwork that intrigue you the most.
- If you can view Waterworks at Arizona Falls at night, do so! If not, here are some night shots!
Think about these questions?
- How can a restored hydroelectrical plant be considered art?
- What is public art?
- Why is a central waterway through the city an appropriate place for public art?
- How does this art work build community identity?
- How does this art work enhance the civic landscape?
- Artist Lajos Héder believes that art derives from the specific place where it happens. How is that especially true about this public artwork?
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Let's Explore
About the Artists
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Mags Harries and Lajos Héder formed Harries/Héder Collaborative in Cambridge, MA in 1990 and have worked together on all major public commissions since then. Mags Harries brings to the collaboration her training in sculpture, teaching and 20 years of work in public art and Lajos, in addition to working as an artist, is experienced in community projects, urban design, site planning, architecture and construction. |
They regularly collaborate with other designers, landscape architects, engineers and fabricators to bring their large-scale, complex projects to life. Mags Harries' public art projects have received national recognition and have won many awards. She observes the small things that, like DNA, reveal all that is important to know about a place. She looks for the charged image, the jolt of electricity that often lies dormant, but can be released to energize a public place and the community.
Lajos Héder is an environmental artist with a background in architecture and urban design. He has spent his career designing and building public places for active community use. He believes that art derives from the specific place where it happens and from common interests in life, death, sunlight, water, food, friendship, and stories, not so much from other art. Lajos' strengths are understanding urban scale and activity, visualizing architectural spaces from drawings and fitting the art works into the process of design and construction. Besides his public art work with Mags shown on this web site, he has designed many downtown pedestrian plans and 6 completed artists' live/work communities. He was also the designer of prize winning entries for two international competitions in his native Budapest, Hungary: the new National Theater in 1989 and Expo '96 in 1990. His current work includes creating solar energy generating sculpture in Austin, river and canal trails in Lowell MA, Phoenix AZ and San Jose CA, incubating ideas for community spaces and land art projects. He is committing increasing amounts of energy to difficult projects involving public spaces and environmental stewardship of waterfronts.
Landscape architect, Steve Martino, has earned a national reputation for design excellence in landscape architecture. His pioneering work with native plant material and the development of a desert-derived aesthetic is widely recognized. Martino is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Martino also worked on the Sunnyslope Canal Demonstration Project, Patrick Park Plaza, and Arizona Falls in Phoenix.
Links to more information on the artists:
Other Work by and Information About the Artists
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Let's Share
Let's Check
Evaluation
- What did you enjoy about this artwork? Why?
- What did you NOT enjoy about this artwork? Why?
Reflection
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- What did you learn about public art from this experience?
- How does public art add to people's enjoyment of a building?
- What aspect of this public art made the greatest impression on you? Why?
- How does this artwork help you develop a sense of your community? Help you identify with your community?
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Let's Learn More
Teacher's Notes
This lesson is linked to the following Arizona State Department Standards:
- Visual Arts
Strand 2: Relate
Concept 4: Meanings or Purposes
Concept # 4: Meanings or Purposes: The student will interpret meanings or purposes of artwork based on contextual information.
- Visual Arts
Strand 3: Evaluate
Concept 2: Materials, Tools, and Techniques
Concept # 2: Materials, Tools, and Techniques:The student will reflect on, and determine how materials, tools, and techniques affect meanings, purposes, and value in artworks.
- Visual Arts
Strand 3: Evaluate
Concept 4: Meanings or Purposes
Concept # 4: Meanings or Purposes: The student will judge an artist’s success in communicating meaning or purpose in their artwork.
- Technology
Standard 5: Technology Research Tools
Students utilize technology-based research tools to locate and collect information
pertinent to the task, as well as evaluate and analyze information from a variety of
sources.
- Technology
Standard 6: Technology as a Tool for Problem Solving and Decision-making
Students use technology to make and support decisions in the process of solving
real-world problems.
- Language Arts Reading
Strand 3: Comprehending Informational Text
Students identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the purpose, structures, and elements of expository text.
- Language Arts: Listening and Speaking
Students effectively listen and speak in situations that serve different purposes and involve a variety of audiences.
- LS-E1. Effectively convey the message through verbal and nonverbal communications with a specific audience
- LS-E3. Interpret and respond to questions
- Language Arts: Viewing and Presenting
Students use a variety of visual media and resources to gather, evaluate and synthesize information and to communicate with others.
- VP-E1. Analyze visual media for language, subject matter and visual techniques use to influence opinions, decision making and cultural perceptions
- VP-E2. Plan, develop and produce a visual presentation, using a variety of media such as videos, films, newspapers, magazines and computer images
- VP-E3. Compare, contrast and establish criteria to evaluate visual media for purpose and effectiveness
- Social Studies: Geography
Concept 1: The World in Spatial Terms
The spatial perspective and associated geographic tools are used to organize and interpret information about people, places and
environments.
- PO-1:Use different kinds of maps to solve problems
- PO-7: Locate physical features in AZ using maps and other location devices
- Social Studies: Geography
Concept 4: Human systems and culture, their nature, and their distribution affects societies and the Earth.
- PO-4: Describe cultural characteristics of Arizona's diverse populations
- PO-6: Describe elements of culture in areas studied
- Workplace Skills Standards
- Standard 1: Students use principles of effective oral, written and listening communication skills to make decisions and solve problems.
- Standard 2: Students apply computation skills and data analysis techniques to make decisions and solve problems.
- Standard 3: Students apply critical and creative thinking skills to make decisions and solve problems.
- Standard 4: Students work individually and collaboratively within team settings to accomplish objectives.
- Standard 7: Students demonstrate technological literacy for productivity in the workplace.
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