Artist: Matthew Geller (New York, NY)
Title: Open Channel Flow
Completion Date: September 2009
Medium: Steel, stainless steel, paint
Funding Source: Percent for Art – City of Houston, General Services Department
Location: 105 Sabine Street
Council District H

The 60-foot tall Open Channel Flow is a delightfully complex configuration of pipes, valves and elbows that seems to grow out of the pump station itself, a witty illustration of the little known fact that Houston has over 7,000 miles of underground drinking water pipe. Geller’s intent is to call attention to the city’s water delivery system, and how ease of access to clean water is sometimes taken for granted.

One element of Open Channel Flow extends across and over the pump station’s fence into the adjacent Buffalo Bayou Park, like the branch of a large tree. At its end is a 30-foot high showerhead that hovers above an 8-foot diameter stainless steel drain that holds a manual well pump. With effort, several pushes on the pump handle result in the release of a gentle spray from the showerhead, offering a cooling benefit to area joggers, bicyclists and users of the nearby Jamail Skate Park. Amber and blue beacons placed atop the work’s highest element 60 feet above flash when water courses through the pipes. All these elements combine to create a kind of urban earthwork that is playful, absurd, and as entertaining as it is functional.
 

 

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