Port Morris - Iron, Steel and Rust


February 17, 2009 -

Port Morris is a Bronx industrial neighborhood covered in rust. Abandoned train tracks run overhead. A burnt-out gas station sits underneath the highway. And on the waterfront, a neglected Richard Serra sculpture is slowly rusting into the snow near an empty ferry terminal.

Between 1923 and 1969, the East 134th Street Ferry Terminal launched ferryboats out to North Brother Island and Rikers Island, according to "Over and Back, The History of Ferryboats in NY Harbor." Visitors for Typhoid Mary, who died in quarantine on North Brother Island in 1938, caught their boat here. During the same era, in 1932, the NY Times reported that "one of the worst marine-industrial accidents of the city's history" happened just offshore, when the old steamship Observation was "blown to pieces... blown to bits." According to "The Bronx: In Bits and Pieces" by Bill Twomey, the Observation "was only a few ship-lengths from shore when the boiler exploded, sinking the ship and killing 72 people on board, including the captain. Most of the dead were ironworkers who paid ten cents each for that fateful ride."

In a fitting and unintentional tribute to these forgotten ironworkers, a huge welded steel Richard Serra sculpture now rests just a few yards from their watery grave, facing the long abandoned ferry terminal. A welded nameplate inside labels it as "Bellamy" - a truly monumental piece of art worth millions of dollars. According to Man of Steel, a New Yorker article from 2002, "Bellamy" is "the spiral that Serra had named after the late Richard Bellamy, his close friend and early dealer." The sculpture was shown at the Venice Biennial before being exhibited by the Gagosian Gallery in 2001, where "one young couple got permission to be married in Bellamy." Fittingly, an article in Art Forum describes "Bellamy" as "an apt monument to the no longer living."

Despite its international acclaim, "Bellamy" is now hidden behind an old corrugated metal shed on the East River waterfront. It has been bleeding rust outdoors for at least three years, when it was used to stage a 2006 guerrilla art installation titled "Invisible Graffiti." It may have been outside even longer, according to a 2005 NY Sun article which claims Richard Serra is "storing" his sculptures in the Bronx. Like the rest of Port Morris, it could soon rust away entirely.

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For other photos from this expedition, visit Bluejake and Mercurialn. Follow-up stories about this sculpture can be seen at greg.org and at archeologie du futur. In September 2010, this photo essay was featured by The New York Times in an article titled "Richard Serra Sculpture Rusts in Bronx Yard" which included one of my photos and an interview.


































6 comments:

  1. I doubt the sculptures would "soon rust away entirely."

    I'm pretty sure Serra makes his sculptures from Cor-Ten steel, which is designed to acquire a protective patina of rust. Lots of outdoor sculptures, including other Serras and the Chicago Picasso, have survived the elements for decades now, to say nothing of the buildings whose facade is made of the stuff.

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  2. I know the person responsible for the storage. Serra wants them to rust as much as possible. He even asked the property owner to hose them down every day so they rust faster. Nothing to worry about.

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  3. While I do recognize that the Serra sculpture won't rust away entirely in this century, I am also aware that his sculptures are extremely fragile, despite their size and material... if the steel is scratched, tagged by a graffiti artist or damaged in any way, it would be extremely hard to repair the patina that the artist worked so hard to create.

    Also, this sculpture was considered a finished work when it was exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery - so why would it need any further rusting or aging? That changes the piece, making it something new...

    All in all, there is no denying that its presence outside in the Bronx is mysterious.

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  4. or at least more visually interesting/dynamic than in the stark halls/gardens of the MOMA - what a fun find!

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  5. Help us achieve historic preservation status for the gantries and create a public art and nature center here. friendsofbrookpark.org. We welcome energy and ideas and resources!

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  6. Sometimes abandonment brings beauty. Away from the touch of the human hand, preservation isn't impossible. These steel monsters are up from hibernation, and photographers like you are off to duty. I wonder if without you taking these photos, I might be still clueless of these stainless steel wing seal beauties. Hope you won't stop from your craft. Stainless steel wing seals sculptures are one of a kind, just like your shots.

    Continue doing great job and I'll continue following you.

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