water fountain..

[George S. Cole]

Mark,
Good point, I was also trying to figure out the proper name for the
object, and settled on water fountain.  The basic issue was that the
fountain was one of water, and it followed a pathway of some sort that
allowed for the sound of falling water to be heard.

Often the pathway is set up to resemble a series of lily pads or leaves
of some marsh plant.  Some are merely cascades, with no resemblance to
any living object.

I've been looking at a variety of fountains, for several years, and I've
seen an assortment of items being referred to as fountains.  Most had a
small fountain of water at the top, that then followed a cascaded path.
I wouldn't advise drinking the water from the fountain, but it is a
fountain.  Others are similar in all respects, except for the water
entering a 'pool' at the top of the fountain, and then flowing from the
pool down a cascaded path.  Can also be a setup in which the water, or
liquid, appears to seep out of a structure.

I've seen other art show items that were termed 'fountains', but there
was absolutely no movement of any type, except for something at the
molecular level.

So, I'm not sure how to define a water fountain, except I know one when
I see one.  Your comment reminded me that there is another type, e.g.,
the hallway fountain, and one that escapes my thought when I now think
of fountains.

George S. Cole   gscole at ark.ship.edu
Shippensburg University