The $175,000 project was funded by the Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise's "One Percent for Public Art" initiative, which sets aside 1 percent of the total capital budget for public art on county property.
"We thought it would be important that as we continue to build out Hudson County and its parks and its new buildings, that we dedicate some of the funding towards public arts," said DeGise.
"It has a long-lasting affect, and it also is a way of supporting and showing encouragement to the emerging artist community that is in all the 12 towns of Hudson County."
In 2006, DeGise appointed professional artists, educators, and businesspeople to the Hudson County Public Art Commission, which selected "Wave" from a long list of possibilities.
"We formed a committee of working artists that would evaluate and put out the proposals and choose the one that they thought would be the most appropriate," said DeGise. "So, the decision was taken out of the hands of the politicians and the government officials and put into the hands of artists."
New Jersey native Chakaia Booker, a nationally recognized public artist, created the large, spiraling sculpture out of brushed stainless steel, though she usually works with rubber tires.
"I am very happy to be able to work in a stainless steel piece," said Booker. "My primary materials are rubber tire and discarded materials, but this particular piece, a decision came about to create this in stainless. As a public art person, I am interested in different materials and, depending on the site and appropriateness of where the location is, to be able to not only make things in rubber but also make things in stainless and other materials."
Hudson County Director of Cultural Affairs and Tourism William La Rosa, who chaired the Public Art Commission, said that the work captured the essence of the neighborhood.
"When you see it, it's the energy," he said. "There was something about it. The artist spoke to the neighborhood. She kind of understood. It was integrated well. It creates a lot of energy to the spot."
La Rosa also said that the committee was looking for something different.
"It's one of those things that when you see it, you know it, you feel it," he said, "and also, we really didn't want to go too much traditional, you know, like someone on a horse kind of thing."
He added, "Public art really is about pride. You could think of great cities, whether it's Rome or Chicago or New York, there is public art everywhere. Why should Hudson County be any different?"
Changes for Washington Park DeGise and La Rosa both said Washington Park was a great location for the county's first piece of public art.
"This is a major gateway for motorists and residents alike, so this became the location," said La Rosa.
DeGise said, "While we are very, very proud of all of the parks in Hudson County - and I don't think there is any question that the county parks are the best parks in Hudson County - Washington Park, over the last generation, has probably been the ugly sister and has seen the least attention. Well, that is going to change over the next few years."
He said that over the next two or three years, the county will replace nearly all the playing fields in Washington Park and even build a clubhouse for the Jersey City-based Washington Park Little League.
Hudson County spokesman James Kennelly said that plans for the county's second public work of art are already underway.
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