Off Site Trip to See "American Manifest: Moving Chains" installation on Governor's Island
Date: June 29, 2023 10:30am-2pm
Format: In-person only
Tags: #art • #digital • #slavery • #tech • #charles gaines
Take an off-site trip to historic Governor's Island to see the digital artwork, " American Manifest: Moving Chains" by Charles Gaines.
Moving Chains is a monumental 110-foot long kinetic sculpture built from steel and sustainably harvested Sapele, commonly referred to as African Mahogany, a tree native to West Africa. Created by Charles Gaines with collaborating architects TOLO Architecture, the sculpture, which people may enter and walk through, contains nine custom made chains weighing over 1,600 pounds each running its length overhead. Eight of the chains are representative of the pace of the currents in New York Harbor, while a ninth central chain moves more quickly, recalling the pace of ship and barge traffic that has traveled the city’s waterways for centuries. The overall effect of the weight and motion of the chains produces a rhythmic, undulating loop, evocative of the sounds of New York Harbor at the entrance to the Hudson River, known to the area’s Indigenous residents the Lenape as Mahicantuck, the river that runs two ways. Starting during the Dutch and British occupations, this waterway near present-day lower Manhattan would become an economic pillar of the transatlantic slave trade and seed the system of racial capitalism foundational to the United States. Facing the Statue of Liberty — an international symbol of benevolence and human rights, distinguished by the abolitionist iconography of a broken shackle and chain at her right foot—Moving Chains calls attention to the nation’s economic, judicial, and political frameworks that continue the legacy of slavery today.
We will meet at 10:30am at Pier 6 - Brooklyn Bridge park ferry terminal to catch the 11am ferry to Governors Island. Bring sunscreen, a sandwich / drink / lunch since there are no places to buy food on the island. Also bring a bike if you have one! Governors island is a great island to bike around (there are Citi-Bikes on the island too so you can rent one if you don't have one.)
Here is a map link of the meeting site: