"Niki de Saint Phalle: Creation of a New Mythology" ends Monday, Oct. 3, at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Since I'm not a visual-art critic, I won't try to expound on the show itself. Instead, I'll just offer my perspective as someone whose desk is only a block from where Saint Phalle's sculptures are glistening on the Green.
I pass there several days a week, headed to lunch or to concerts at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center further up the street. Saint Phalle's mirrored "Firebird," with its permanent perch in front of the museum, has lit up the neighborhood since before the museum even opened -- well before the supersized death's head (photo by T. Ortega Gaines) and the trumpeter with his coat of many colors joined it across Tryon.
Here's what I see most every day. People stop. They look. They have their pictures taken with the "Firebird." They step inside "La Cabeza" and peer out through its teeth. They linger in front of the trumpeter as if they're listening to his solo.
Check out reader photos of 'La Cabeza'
Compare that to what happens nearby. There are a pair of newish sculptures on the bridge across I-277, flanking the Observer's front lawn. They're right by the path of uptown workers heading to and from home, and I've never seen anyone stop and look at them. On North Tryon, there are four brawny sculptures at the Square. For all the attention they get, they might as well not be there. And in a way, they aren't -- since their pedestals lift them above the level where actual humans are.
But the "Firebird" and its companions draw people to them. If you believe the old saying that everybody's a critic, there's a review for you. The sculptures on the Green will outlast the indoor part of the show by a few days: They'll stand their ground through Oct. 12.
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5 comments:
Thanks, Steven. The Green on South Tryon is such a great, whimsical space. I only wish the library branch were still open there!
I love the big head and all the changes in that area of South Tryon. And through it all, beautiful St. Peter's Catholic Church, there on that corner for so long, stands proud.
Awww, I thought Jennifer Roberts was leaving.
Thanks goodness the "head" is finally leaving. I came by there today and noticed how out of place it looked.
I hope you tax payers have enjoyed this bill.
Only private funding was used to bring the sculptures here. No taxpayer money at all. No taxpayer money for the Firebird, either. It is perfectly alright if you don't like the works, of course. But it is just as important for everyone to know that taxes had nothing to do with it.
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