Ropes/Shore, 1969
Along the southern edge of Ward’s Island in the East River, a rope anchored with a large rock is put in the water, pulled taut, and staked on the adjacent grass. This is repeated at twenty foot intervals along the half mile of shoreline in this temporary project. It is necessary to walk the full distance to see this work which changes step by step. It is not a singular experience (there is no one point of view) but one extended through time and space. The viewer’s relationship to the landscape is constantly shifting, tracing the edge of the island point by point. For a person exploring this junction, the repetition of the ropes makes an insistent connection between the land and water.