Going off the deep end at ICA

On second thought

High divers should make quite a splash in harbor

August 17, 2011|By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff

The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston will be on the cutting edge Saturday… (2007 file/George Rizer/Globe…)

The Institute of Contemporary Art, the eye-catching building on Fan Pier, is usually a quiet, contemplative place. But just as all works of art are not meant to be framed on a wall or tucked into a glass display case, the ICA at the edge of Boston Harbor will break form Saturday afternoon and yield its roof to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

Venture to the Atlantic’s edge Saturday and you won’t see that paradise has put up a parking lot. You will get a glimpse of the athletic art form more commonly associated with the idyllic and majestic hills of Hawaii, Jamaica, Australia, even Switzerland.

More than a dozen of the world’s best high divers, competing in stop No. 6 of this year’s Red Bull seven-city international tour, will dive from a platform anchored 85 feet above sea level. According to the folks at Red Bull, the water at the divers’ point of entry is 23 feet deep.

Now, that certainly sounds deep enough, at least as far as diving off a downtown building and into Boston Harbor goes. We resisted the temptation to make a call to the Elias Sports Bureau for any comparables. Some measurements just have to be accepted on faith, kind of like that 310-foot marker at the base of Fenway’s left-field wall. The Custom House would have offered a higher platform, but imagine the running start required for divers to avoid a dry landing. Haymarket gets messy enough on weekends.

“Diving has always sold itself as a sport of somewhat daring,’’ said Tom Groden, Boston College’s longtime swimming coach, checking in via e-mail. “We who remember the ‘Wild (sic) World of Sports’ on ABC as kids all remember the Acapulco cliff diving contests. The announcers always emphasized the height, the changing depth of water, the wind - all in the hope of keeping the audience in their seats.’’

The folks at the ICA don’t know what to expect for a crowd, but outdoor seating at the water’s edge will be free, with space that should comfortably accommodate 2,000 or more, according to Colette Randall, the ICA’s associate director of marketing. The action begins at 3 p.m. For those interested in combining art and athletics, the ICA has rolled back ticket prices by $5, to $10, and ticket buyers can watch from inside the ICA’s John Hancock Founders Gallery.

High dives, high art, low prices. How do you beat that in this challenged economy? A sawbuck for art moderne and a 2 ½ twist from a tucked position.

“Everyone here is excited about the building being used in this capacity,’’ reported Randall, although she confessed none of her coworkers inquired about giving the platform a test run. “Yeah, well, I tried volunteering one of my colleagues, but she didn’t go for it.’’