Where to see ‘Winter Fountains’ on the Ben Franklin Parkway

Art knows no bounds and with the Jennifer Steinkamp installation, “Winter Fountains,” it’s even uses science to create wonder in those who experience it.

Commissioned by the Association for Public Art (aPA), the work is one of the focal points of Parkway 100, the yearlong centennial celebration of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

“The aPA was involved in the earliest plans for the Parkway, so Winter Fountains is a logical extension of our vision to integrate public art and civic design by creating opportunities for artists to respond to the public environment. Here Steinkamp combines drawing and computer animation to reimagine the phenomenon of electricity through the language of media technologies,” says Penny Balkin Bach, executive director of aPA and chief curator for Winter Fountains. “Through a cycle of ice, sparks, steam, electricity, clouds, and water, the artist draws us into a mesmerizing universe of her creation.”

“Winter Fountains” is comprised of four large domes, which will glitter by day and glow by night. Swapping paint for pixels, digital animations are projected onto the surface of the domes, featuring surreal imagery in green, blue, red, pink and yellow tones.

“Anyone who’s ever observed water melting and glistening on a piece of ice will get my project,” says Steinkamp. “To me, beauty in art and nature makes you consider the intense joy of looking and lets you experience a deep sense of existence.”

“Winter Fountains” runs from Nov. 30 through March 18, 2018 from sunset to midnight at these four locations on the Parkway:

-Aviator Park, at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
-21st Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, between the Rodin Museum and the Barnes Foundation
-22nd Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, across from Park Towne Place Museum District Residences
-Spring Garden Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art

For more information, visit:
parkway100.org