Art – pretty, bold, intricate, minimal, visceral.
Some art simply seems to decorate a
space, providing some relief from the monotony of a beige concrete wall. Other art tells a clear story or captures a
particular scene. Occasionally art is so
abstract that it seems incomprehensible to anyone except the artist who created
it (and even then you wonder if they really had something in mind). Finally, on rare occasion, you will come
across a piece of artwork that simply speaks to you, engendering an almost
visceral reaction, bringing you back to it time after time, hoping that you can
recapture that initial feeling of wonder.
This
summer, I came across a sculpture like that here in St. Louis.
The
first time I saw the Dancing Chairs was in August when I was playing Kickball
for Kids. I was wandering around the
perimeter of the game fields and came upon it.
I stopped, and the strains of B. B. King singing “Saturday Night Fish
Fry” floated through my head as the chairs came alive and danced before my
eyes.
I could
see the turns and sugar pushes, the walks, the sweat hearts, and the neck
wraps. The synergy between the lead and
follow was perfect; the dance expressed joy and laughter, transporting the
dancers into their own personal world.
More
than that, I saw myself dancing on that grassy dance floor, moving my hips to a
lively beat, and twirling my cares away as the singer in my mind's song was
being dragged out from under the bathtub.
I
skipped a few steps down the sidewalk, dancing from one end of the sculpture to
the other, imagining the choreography that would capture the dance the chairs
were engaged in, before I ran off to play some more kickball.
The
sculpture is Dancing Chairs by Rod Baer.
It is located just to the north of the ball fields of Shaw Park in Clayton.
Dancing Chairs are very nice, but I still love the high heal creation.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely on my top 5 list. My other favorite is of the guy chiseling himself out of a hunk of rock.
ReplyDelete