Lan Tuazon’s Sculpture Class

October 27, 2011

Lan Tuazon had a very special request for the Tide and Current Taxi: bring her Cooper Union sculpture class to the Boat Graveyard in Staten Island.

I have learned one lesson from my trips to the boat graveyard. The tide usually helps the Tide and Current Taxi, but here in these huge tidal flats, the tide tends to strand its visitors.

“In another few hours this island will be gone,” I told Lan…

but the extra low tide that day provided lots of good treasure hunting.

Lan was talking to her sculpture class that week about site specific sculpture, so she decided instead of giving them a lecture about sites, she would just take them to one of the best ones in New York.

Almost her entire class made the 2.5 hour trek out to Staten Island, which ended up being half of the adventure.

We started out in groups to explore the wrecks.

The other half of the class was waiting for us aboard a half-sunken ship.

I realized quickly that this was a mistake.

It seemed like the half left behind wanted to be out in the boat and those on the boat wanted to be back on shore.

They described something else too, that I had never thought about before.

When they were waiting aboard the half sunken ship, the tide was coming in – quickly.

As they watched the water rise around them, they couldn’t help but think that the ship was still sinking.

No matter how they reassured themselves that the ship was solid, that it had been there for many years in just that same position,

the water was still rising. Ultimately they knew that the deck that they were standing on would be gone some day.

The tide was rising around where we left the backpacks too.

An hour before, this was solid ground.

Back aboard the wreck, we explored the slowly sinking vessel.

It seemed forgotten by time, engaged in a decades long battle with the elements.

The bridge of the boat had been ransacked years ago.

Bones in the map drawer.

I couldn’t help but record my version of one of the most photogenic views at the graveyard.

It was time to pick up the crew who was waiting on the beach,

and for an hour I shuttled the tide and current taxi back and forth to bring everyone back to shore.

Joseph and Daniel stayed behind to help me with the boat.

They hadn’t minded being stranded out there, left behind on the desolate wrecks and beaches.

In fact I wondered if they would like to stay out there for the rest of the day, left behind by the group like the forgotten wrecks, left to the elements and to their own thoughts.

thanks Lan Tuazon and to the Cooper Union sculpture class:
Daniel Hall
Joeseph Riley
Shane Kennedy
Alexander Rocine
Alice Yang
Moises Sanabria

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