I am writing this from inside the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. So here are unquestionably better things i could be doing right now but somethings need to be said. There is an exhibit recently put in recently put in for the Mega cities Asia exhibit. One of these exhibits is made from bike frames from the company forever. This brings a uniformity to the sculpture and keeps one bike from being a focal point. This also makes sure the bikes fit together neatly, yet I see this as a misrepresentation of the socially diverse mega city. (Maybe even some free advertising for forever) the most important part of this sculpture is in the the way these frames that should not necessarily fit together do, the balance between bike frames, seats, handlebars, but most importantly gears and wheels. These are key because they provide motion to a stationary sculpture. There is not motor but they CAN spin. Crowd of people gingerly circle this sculpture in appreciation of the vision that this artist had. Four, five six year olds have a completely different interpretation of this. They don't see the art, they see something better, they run under the bikes and go in the sculpture. They spin the wheels. They breath life into metal. It is because of these children I understand the beauty of this sculpture, because it is not metal to be a cylinder or a sculpture but a seductress pulling us the people in to admire what is there, creating a connection between us. Like the people that must share a city. There is no ribbon or barrier to this attraction and while I write this there are clearly people that come up close to the sculpture, they nearly caress it, and then back off this is a museum after all a place of appreciation not action. So as I go up I guiltily turn the pedal less pedals, i feel there resistance to my push, as i try to be firm yet gentle determined to leave my own mark on this sculpture. Then I take a set over to gently spin a wheel and finally a step back to admire my handiwork. This is when I am taken aback as a museum worker tells me not to touch the sculpture, it's not welded together, we don't know if its stable. After a moment of contemplation I spoke to her, and she agrees that this is a sculpture is made to be touched, and experienced but authority cant let there be a risk in doing so. There were kid crawling under the edge and going inside the where the cylindrical sculpture turned into an elaborate cage, and no child should get hurt from this kind of carelessness. So sitting here i'm not sure which pedal i moved or if anyone else has touched it since, but i know i have left a mark on something that can be greater than myself. While there are no motors on these wheels, but they are meant to spin. It does not matter which wheel, it doesn't matter who many, because this sculpture is lack luster on its own it is with human interaction in mind. As i look up a child spins the wheel as he walks by.
http://www.mfa.org/programs/series/the-city-talks
P.S. who said a child can't understand art.
That sounds like a sweet sculpture, I should go back to the MFA someday soon. I enjoyed what you thought the structure represented and about how sometimes it takes a child to get someone to understand something. I think that you have a lot of insight into literature and art.
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