LandWave crashes

Less than seven years since it was dedicated in the spring of 2011, the long, sloping, blue LandWave sculpture on Washington Street at Peters Park is being eyed for removal.

The approximately 100 foot long sculpture commemorates the Boston Neck, a narrow strip of land that connected downtown Boston and Roxbury before the South End was filled in and developed in the 19th century, with an inscription details its history.

Neighbors of the park say the sculpture is becoming increasingly unsafe and unsightly as a result of its glass tiles falling off and breaking into bits on the ground, and have petitioned city officials to request decommissioning of the installation.

Approximately 40 people, mostly from the Old Dover Neighborhood Association (ODNA) and Friends of Peters Park (FoPP), met with representatives of the Boston Art Commission (BAC) and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department (BPRD) to air their views and present a petition with 38 signatures for the artpiece to be de-accessioned and removed to make way for improvements to the park.

In June of last year, ODNA and FoPP wrote a joint letter to the Chantal Charles of the Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund, which funded the creation of the outdoor art piece, asking for the work's removal and describing in detail its state of disrepair and factors contributing to its deterioration, some rooted in the initial fabrication and some resulting from vandalism and unintended use.

The letter noted the LandWave's initial beauty, and noted that the eventual deterioration of the sculpture occurred "despite the best efforts of the artist, the city and its neighbors," citing its location, design, and materials as factors that contributed to the damage to the sculpture. The sculpture also incurred damage through use as a perch for ballplayers to watch games at the adjacent Peters Park ballfield.

An October, 2017 condition report by public art conservators Rika Smith McNally pointed to errors in LandWave's fabrication by Unicorn Fine Arts of New York. Plantings surrounding the sculpture never took hold, and inferior concrete led to the failure of the lighting system.
One of the two sections, or berms, of the installation has sizable areas of missing glass tiles, which are cited in the neighborhood groups' letter as a safety concern that has already caused cuts and minor injuries.
The letter further states that the Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund, which is administered by the City of Boston, was a major donor to LandWave's creation but is not responsible for providing maintenance and repair, and repair and restoration of the LandWave would be too expensive for neighbors and the city to undertake.

This is not the first public art installation that met with problems for LandWave landscape architect Shauna Gillies-Smith, founding principal of Somerville-based ground, Inc. Gillies-Smith created another aquatically-inspired outdoor work called "Tracing the Fore" for the city of Portland, Maine that was dedicated in 2006 and de-acquisitioned in 2011. "Tracing the Fore" consisted of two metal panels with tall grass intended to billow above the panels, suggesting waves.
Instead, weeds overtook the site, youth on bicycles raced between the panels and the installation became an eyesore.

Smith reported that at the meeting with the Art Commission, almost all of the neighbors in attendance spoke in favor of removing the LandWave. "The group took a straw vote and it was near unanimous to remove Landwave, although a couple of people expressed regret that the piece was falling apart and couldn't be repaired," he said via e-mail.

Despite the near-consensus from neighbors, the Art Commission expressed reservation. "The comments at the meeting by the Art Commission were not encouraging and seemed to indicate that there is a longer road ahead to determine next steps and eventual outcome. This is disappointing considering the overwhelming community support for removal," Smith wrote.

It is an unusual step for the Art Commission to deaccession, or move to decommission, an installation, although the October 2017 conservation report states that LandWave meets many of the criteria for deaccession. In the meantime, ODNA and the Friends group eagerly hope for approval to remove the ill-starred sculpture. "...neither Old Dover nor Friends of Peters Park has received any acknowledgement or guidance from the Art Commission outlining the steps they will be taking to create a Deaccession Policy or how they will be working with the neighborhood to stabilize Landwave until something is decided, even though it is a safety hazard and the materials are deteriorating. However, we are optimistic that communication will become more streamlined and we will hear from the city in the near future as we have typically enjoyed a strong relationship with the city around public opinion and doing what is best for the safety and well-being of the neighborhood we represent," Smith said. The Art Commission could not be reached by press time.