A Drop in the Bucket

September, 1985 - February, 1986
Franklin Street between Lafayette and Centre Streets
Photo © 1985 Lawerence I. Lesman

A Drop in the Bucket was an outdoor sculpture with text by Jane Greengold about Collect Pond, the 70 acre fresh water pond which existed in lower Manhattan until it was filled after 1803. The project included journals and a water purification device by the fictional 18th century character, Charles Cooper, a proto-environmentalist created by the artist. An excerpt from the journal asserted, "When we see how drastically things can change, we can see how important it is to fight for whatever we believe is worth keeping." Greengold attempted to make the public more aware of this phenomenon with his sculpture made in tribute to such an occurrence.