We parked in the musical parking garage, where several bright red fins line the walls outside. A hand placed on a pad at the base of a fin plays a brief tune. The building is an “urban musical instrument” by American sound artist and architect Christopher Janney. Pedestrians can "play" the building, or they can wait for the building's hourly songs, or they can solve a riddle located on a plaque on the building's exterior and be rewarded with a concert.
Hearst Tower, the third tallest building in Charlotte.
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Uptown Charlotte is packed with superb contemporary architecture and outdoor public art.
The Mint Museum.
Firebird by Niki de Sainte Phalle, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in the background.
The Writer's Desk by Larry Kirkland.
Il Grande Disco by Arnoldo Pomodoro.
Future by Raymond Kaskey
Metalmorphosis by Czech artist David Cerny. This gigantic segmented metal head sits in a large reflecting pool. The sculpture consists of nearly 40 horizontal steel "slices" grouped into segments which independently rotate 360 degrees. The mouth spits water into the reflecting pool. When the segments are aligned, the sculpture appears to be a huge, silver head with all of the usual features in their normal places. But when the segments rotate, the result is a mesmerizing, perpetually moving showpiece which alternately looks like a human head—with disturbing, gaping holes where the mouth or eyes should be—or, alternately, like nothing replicated in the physical world. And the reflecting pool beneath the sculpture creates an even more muddled reflection.
There are 6 of those disk sculptures around the world, apparently--including one on the U of C campus.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember seeing that disk--wasn't it over by the campus bookstore? And the bit by bit revolving head must be fascinating to watch.
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