Philadelphia’s Dilworth Park is now home to a monumental new artwork from 2018 NextGen speaker Janet Echelman. The new, permanent installation mirrors the underground SEPTA train lines across the surface of the park, described by the artist herself as “a living x-ray of the city’s circulatory system.” Known as Pulse, the installation comprises includes curtains of mist that fluidly move across the park’s fountain.
Drawing inspiration from the central square’s history as the city’s water and transportation hub, Echelman collaborated with Urban Engineers, water feature consultant CMS Collaborative, and landscape architect OLIN in crafting the installation. The paintings of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko informed the color palette emitted through four-foot-tall beams of light. Two additional sections of the installation will outline the Market-Frankford and the Broad Street SEPTA lines, respectively.
“I’m thrilled to see Pulse come to life—my first permanent artwork using cool mist with colored light,” Echelman says. “When I started work eight years ago, this was a forlorn plaza. So it’s especially exciting to see the colors come alive in this beautiful park. With the successful opening of this first phase, I feel great momentum towards the completion of the blue and orange lines to activate the entire park.”
