5/31/2003: Sculpture: Hell Bent

[Undertoad]

Tip o the hat to xoxoxoBruce for this one. It's a fibreglass and steel sculpture called "Hell Bent" by David Mach in the courtyard at London's Royal Academy.

We really need a wider shot here to put it in context. And to see whether the flames are continuous (unlikely?) or if they happen on cue (which could be interesting: what cue?) or at specific times or such.

Curious - I wonder how much actual fire has been used in actual art. And it makes you think about technology and art, too, and how technology has given artists more and more tools to work with.

Not that it necessarily makes for better art. In Vegas, for a while at the Caesar's Palace shopping area there were "living" sculptures that would play some worked-out routine involving lots of fire and smoke. But it was one of those things that you see once and say "interesting", and then see again and say "actually, kinda lame."

That's the difference, I suppose, between good art and mere spectacle; the good art will strike you at a deeper place in your soul.