WATER’S SOUL SHINES AT NIGHT
Noteworthy waterfront sculpture highlighted with color-changing lighting scheme
A spectacular sculpture across the Hudson River now shines brightly at night for the enjoyment of both New Yorkers and Jersey residents and visitors. Water’s Soul (https://waterssouljc.com/#video-gallery) stands approximately 80 feet tall, is 41 feet long and 28 feet wide on a newly redeveloped, historic Hudson River waterfront pier in the Newport area of Jersey City.
Developers of Newport, LeFrak and Simon companies chose the world-renowned artist Jaume Plensa to create the provocative white statue because of his ability to convey a collective hope for humanity’s future. Made of polyester resin, fiberglass and marble dust, Water’s Soul depicts a woman with closed eyes holding a finger to her lips in a state of silent contemplation and self-reflection. It is the neighborhood’s first public art installation by an international artist.
Plensa said of the statue, “Water is a marvelous metaphor; one drop of water is quite alone, like a single person, but many drops can create a tidal wave or immense rivers and oceans, much like individual people come together to create community, exchange ideas and build something incredibly powerful.”
To make sure the sculpture would not get lost at night among the busy New York City and Jersey City skylines, the developers hired Focus Lighting to illuminate Water’s Soul without blocking or detracting from any of its views.
Reflecting Nature Artfully
Brett Andersen, Principal Lighting Designer for Focus Lighting, said, “The design intent was for the sculpture to reflect the nature around it, so we wanted to follow the colors of sunset and moonlight in our lighting scheme. We determined that an RGBW quad chip was required to achieve these subtle colors without creating color shadows due to the intricate details and unique shape of the sculpture. We also needed appropriate lighting to withstand the harsh conditions near the water.”
The Focus Lighting team, led by Andersen, investigated lighting systems that would provide excellent color mixing capabilities with field replaceable lens optics that facilitated easier adjustments. In addition, they wanted a solution that would accommodate multiple fixture sizes and lumen outputs. For instance, high output fixtures were required for pole mounted fixtures, while EOs were specified for tight areas.
After researching multiple options, Focus Lighting specified Dyna Drum HO and EO Color fixtures from Acclaim Lighting. The fixtures are high output, outdoor rated, quad color LED floodlights. They feature an internal 100-277VAC power supply and onboard DMX+RDM driver, and each unit features Acclaim’s Aria wireless DMX technology inside. The Spectrum Four, quad color chip provides superior color mixing and saturation over single source LED fixtures. The fixtures come with a narrow 10° beam standard, with optional quick-change spread lenses for wider applications. Both fixtures are IP66 rated for wet locations and operate between -40º F to 125º F (-40º C to 51º C). The Dyna Drum HO Color fixtures were tenon mounted on custom poles, while the Dyna Drum EO Color fixtures were bolt mounted within the plinth.
According to Andersen, LeFrak and Simon were so thrilled with the final design for Water’s Soul that they additionally contracted with the Focus Lighting team to update the lighting for the LeFrak Point Lighthouse just down the way.
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Water’s Soul Lighting Project Participants
Lighting Designer - Focus Team
Brett Andersen – Principal Lighting Designer
Erin Ryan – Senior Lighting Designer
David Kinkade – Project Manager
Nic Christopher – Project Manager
Landscape Designer - MNLA
Rae Ishee
Daniel Yannaccone
Owner – LeFrak and Simon
