Temple of Truth, New York, NY / 2009

Inspired by the image of an eye facing the sky, the open air Temple of Truth is intended as a place of exploration, contemplation, and personal expression. All summer long, visitors to Governor’s Island will be invited to interact with this 40’ x 28’ installation. Visitors can walk through the spiraling wooden structure to the heart of the eye, and leave temporary messages, confessions, and art on its walls. Together they will respond to the questions “What is truth?” and “Where can truth be found in our lives?” as the Temple nurtures discussion of the value and impact of truth in our society. The inward-spiraling boundary of the sanctuary space offers a blank membrane that is both internal and external, rich with possibilities and perspectives. This boundary is punctured by triangular openings to offer select views outward, transforming the viewer’s eye into a corporeal eye of providence, observing truth in the world. The Temple of Truth is an experiment to explore the lines between our subjective truth and the participatory nature of our collective truth.

This work is a recipient of the 2009 Oscar M. Ruebhausen Commission from the Greenwall Foundation. The Temple was published in the New York Times, the New York Post, and the AIA’s E-occulus newsletter.

/ Design by Chris Niederer and Jennifer Upchurch, Fabrication by Digifabshop

Exquisite Weapon, New York, NY / 2010

The Exquisite Weapon is an interactive installation that evokes Governor’s island’s historical and transformative nature. The piece is in the shape of an unexploded bomb, with maple seed fins. The weapon illustrates a temporary interruption in the destructive nature of creation. Its skin is composed of two-sided illustrations which evoke the dual nature of the island, its military significance and future ecological harmony. The interior of the piece allows the user to rearrange the skin’s narrative into their own preferred juxtaposition of the horror of war and an eden-like beatitude. The weapon’s tail displays a rotating teleidoscope that allows one to experience the view of a seed falling to earth or the path of a bomb bent on destruction.

/ Design by Chris Niederer and Alex Roediger, Fabrication by Digifabshop

Reverberation, New York, NY / 2013

We entered an interactive sculpture in the 2013 Figments Arts Festival that takes place on Governor's Island in New York City. The piece, Reverberation, was a study in play and sound, creating a space where movement and captured sound formed a soundscape. Made from simple components, with ingenuity of design provided by the designers, the installation was a hit with children when it opened in June 2013.

/ Design by Chris Niederer, Emily Webster and Maria Rizzolo

Figment Minigolf Pavilion, New York, NY / 2011-2013

The minigolf pavilion was constructed as a complementary addition to the annual artistic minigolf course on Governors Island, which ran for multiple summers. The pavilion served as a shaded area where attendants distributed balls and clubs for the course, while also offering storage facilities and a box for collecting donations. The pavilion was designed to be easy to construct and disassemble multiple times for winter storage.

/ Design by Chris Niederer, CNC work by Digifabshop, Construction by Chris Niederer and Figment volunteers

Revenge of the Third Rail, New York, NY / 2017-2018

New Yorkers saw the world through Pizza Rat's beady little eyes when "Revenge of the Third Rail," a large-scale, outdoor game debuted at FIGMENT NYC on Governors Island in 2017. The Game was used several times on Governor’s Island, as well as in Dumbo, Brooklyn, where it was featured on NY1’s live with Roger Clark as pert of the Come Out and Play Festival. See video below.

Our team was named one of ten winners in the Dream Bigger competition from FIGMENT NYC, the annual participatory arts festival held on Governors Island. The competition challenged designers and artists to invent art experiences that are highly interactive, involve a large group, are visually stunning, and have a provocative concept. Each winner was awarded a $1,000 grant to further develop their project.

“Revenge of the Third Rail” invited New Yorkers to identify with some of the city's most despised denizens: the rats crawling around the subway system. Each player climbed into a small cart built to resemble the front half of a rat, with their hands inserted into the front, and their own feet propelling the cart forward. The players race to collect prop morsels like pizza slices and doughnuts, while dodging obstacles like lost cellphones and keys – all while avoiding the subway train barreling down the tracks.

The game accommodated up to four players at a time (two rats and two people manning the subway car) and lasts about five minutes, allowing more than 50 people to play per hour. Players waiting on line participate by tossing the prop obstacles and morsels onto the tracks to entice or distract the racers, and stomping their feet as the train pulls into the station.

/ Design by Chris Niederer and Debra Everett-Lane, with assistance from ESI Design

Dinoball or the Instability of Form, New York, NY / 2009-2010

Inspired by a teacup fairground ride and 3D wooden dinosaur puzzles, The Instability of Form (AKA Dinoball) is an occupiable sculpture. It has three dinosaur heads mounted on it which express the continuity and instability of forms in nature as they evolve. Each one is slightly different, and the circular nature of the piece asks the question: “which came first, the chicken or the dinosaur egg?”

The Dinoball is a seating area and conversation booth, designed to be a relaxing place to put your feet up and discuss the finer points of evolutionary biology, much like a diner booth or a hot tub. Dinoball is capable of carrying up to 9 small children, or 4-6 adults.

The piece was exhibited at the NYC Decompression event at Floyd Bennett Airfield and the GreenHalloween street fair in Manhattan in 2009. The Dinoball is made of CNC cut fir exterior grade plywood, finished with paint and stain. It was also modified to be a land-sailor.

/ Design by Chris Niederer, Fabrication by Digifabshop