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They’re moonstruck.A quirky art installation lighting up Lower Manhattan’s South Street Seaport is drawing New Yorkers and tourists like moths to a flame, with some marveling that the piece is so striking, they couldn’t walk past it without stopping, even in the blistering cold.The MoonGARDEN on Pier 17 invites visitors to stroll among 14 illuminated orbs and projected oceanic-esque shadows, or fantastical creatures called the “Abyss Walkers.”“I saw the globe changing colors, and I heard the music, so I was like, ‘What is this? I have to check it out,’ ” said Lou Morales, 51, admitting he had walked through the waterfront area many times before but had never been inclined to stop and take in the scenery.“I think it’s fantastic,” he said of the art venture.“I think in the middle of all the craziness of the city, you have this kind of peaceful music in the background.
In fact, that’s what drew me.And then I saw all these other people looking.”Morales of Hackettstown, NJ, was just one of dozens of people drawn toward the light show as the sun set Tuesday — even as temperatures dropped to a bone-chilling 20 degrees.The visitors weaved their way through the various-sized orbs as the large shapes changed colors and shadows danced around their exteriors.At the center of the display is a massive 20-foot-in-diameter sphere peppered with portholes, where guests are invited to peek inside to catch a glimpse of the “Abyss Walkers” — oceanic shadows partially created with wheels, gears and mechanical elements that have “evolved from the remnants of a past civilization,” its creators say.Visitors are invited to add their own personal touches to the display by “painting” a cluster of orbs with the flashlights on their phones.
Three spheres known as EXPosure are outfitted with technology that briefly remembers the streams.Cherry Almedino, 26, said she added MoonGARDEN to her itinerary after discovering the magic on social media.“The...