Hunter's Point South Park

Luminescence (2018) by artist Nobuho Nagasawa consists of seven moons, each six feet in diameter and sixteen inches tall. Emerging from the landscaped peninsula, the cast concrete domes form a 66’ diameter arc that represents the seven phases of the moon. The artwork is a symbolic tribute to the lunar influence on the East River’s tidal rhythms.

To model the moons, Nagasawa used NASA topographic survey data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The cast domes are a stylized but accurate representation of the lunar surface of craters, mountains, and valleys. The moons’ phosphorous surfaces absorb sunlight during the day.  As dusk approaches, the phase of each moon is revealed in sparkling blue points of light that emit a soft glow. Luminescence creates a natural vista where people observe the water, sun, moon, and a sense of time passing against the Manhattan skyline.

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park Phase II, completed in June 2018, transformed 5.5 acres of an abandoned industrial landscape into a new waterfront park, a short ferry ride from midtown Manhattan across the East River from the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, and the United Nations.

Based in New York since 2001, Nagasawa is a transdisciplinary artist whose site-specific and community-responsive works are shaped by her interest in the intersections of art, science, technology, sound, and the senses.  She has received the highest honors and awards given out for excellence in design.  n 2016, she won her second “Excellence in Design Award” in for Luminescence from the New York City Public Design Commission. In 2019, the Hunter's Point South Waterfront Park Phase II, received the Best Urban Landscape Masterworks Award from the Municipal Arts Society.  

The sculpture was commissioned by the NYC Economic Development Corporation and NYC Housing Preservation and Development.