Aqua Pura

Tim and Reiko consider themselves Civic Artists, interested in the role of the citizen artist and believing that each work must function in a positive yet transcendent manner for the viewer. AQUA PURA was developed working closely with Steve Leonard, Water Quality Manager for the San Francisco Water Department. The project is designed to assist Steve in his quest for a new public education program. The works are intended for an audience of young teens to adult. The book is written with an interest in science, engineering and the environment but does not ignore the multicultural experience of spirituality and human appreciation for water. The book is freely distributed by the San Francisco Water Department and is intended as a companion text for visitors to the San Andreas Treatment Facilty and it’s attendant community based interactive artwork.

Download the Aqua Pura text

The interactive installation is intended to bridge the gap between history and the present, the organization and the hands that built it. The images and stories on the wall are intended to inform a visitor or employee of the individual acts, and natural wonders that contributed to the construction of the system which delivers water to the citizens of San Francisco. The audio element of the installation is broken down into six channels each with specific interactive abilities programmed in. The audio is activated by coming within three feet of any of eight infra-red switches. The sound emanates from any and sometimes all of the eight speakers hidden in the wall above the switches. Upon first approach the visitor will slowly be enveloped by the sound of a sprinkling summer shower, over a three minute period the shower builds to a storm then again dissipates into a subtle shower. The five other channels are programmed to respond in different orders guaranteeing the casual employee with 10 minutes to spare a constantly evolving experience. However the visitor with twenty minutes of time can experience the complete system. The five channels offer a variety of experiences from the “water sutra” which features the word water translated into 70 different languages to a detailed explanation of water temples and their role in history and their function within the San Francisco system. In addition there are channels which focus on stories concerning the natural phenomenon within the watershed, and field stories from personnel describing everything from the experience of being miles into buried pipelines to the function and characteristics of an ozone system. There is also a group of children vocally listing the endangered species on the Watersheds. This includes a particularly playful interactive design which allows the small visitor to ‘steal’ the sound back and forth by activating the proximity switches.