Kalch (Dutch for chalk) was inspired by the history of the Collect Pond in Lower Manhattan, a five-acre natural pond that lay just north of what is now City Hall Park. Choked with pollution from the growing city, the Collect Pond was buried under a landfill in 1803.
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Its former presence is marked by a small concrete park that is slowly collapsing due to an invisible layer of waterlogged soil below the surface. To bring Manhattan’s lost pre-urban landscape back to life, Julia Mandle and her performers, wearing yellow chalk shoes, literally drew attention to the pond by outlining its former perimeter.
During the hour long procession, as the eleven performers scuffed slowly along, thousands of tourists and pedestrians in the busy urban area, stopped and joined the procession. To enhance their experience, Mandle distributed a map and text written by urban historian Christopher Neville illustrating the pond’s original location in relation to the outline of the current city streets.
Kalch (Dutch for chalk) was inspired by the history of the Collect Pond in Lower Manhattan, a five-acre natural pond that lay just north of what is now City Hall Park. Choked with pollution from the growing city, the Collect Pond was buried under a landfill in 1803.
PAGEBREAK
Its former presence is marked by a small concrete park that is slowly collapsing due to an invisible layer of waterlogged soil below the surface. To bring Manhattan’s lost pre-urban landscape back to life, Julia Mandle and her performers, wearing yellow chalk shoes, literally drew attention to the pond by outlining its former perimeter.
During the hour long procession, as the eleven performers scuffed slowly along, thousands of tourists and pedestrians in the busy urban area, stopped and joined the procession. To enhance their experience, Mandle distributed a map and text written by urban historian Christopher Neville illustrating the pond’s original location in relation to the outline of the current city streets.
