Coastline | |
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Artist | Jim Sanborn |
Year | 1993 |
Type | Outdoor sculpture |
Dimensions | 1.8 m × 9.1 m × 23 m (6 ft × 30 ft × 75 ft) |
Location | Silver Spring, Maryland |
38°59′29″N 77°01′47″W / 38.991452°N 77.029715°W |
Coastline is an outdoor sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn installed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration complex in Silver Spring, Maryland. [1]
Coastline attempts to recreate the effect of waves crashing on the Atlantic coast (represented by rough-cut granite). [2] This is achieved with artificial waves generated by a turbine and pneumatic blower underneath the sculpture. The wave frequency is controlled by a remote tide gauge in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, that sends actual wave heights to the sculpture's control mechanism in real time. [3] Sanborn built a quarter-size scale model of the sculpture and consulted with a wave engineer while doing research for the project. [2]