Beyond/In Western New York 2010 is here! Sure, the tight rope walker may have taken the spotlight in the regional art exhibition's kick-off yesterday; meanwhile, in the Hydraulics, an electrifying sculpture revealed by Reinhard Reitzenstein is turning heads at the intersection of Seneca and Smith streets.
Reitzenstein's 14'x40' steel sculpture inspired by the work of Nikola Tesla, titled "to have a grip on the earth so the whole of this globe can quiver," is an outgrowth of this year's event theme, "Alternating Currents," relating to Buffalo's history of invention in the harnessing of electricity. Tesla and Thomas Edison famously duked it out in the famous AC/DC battle at Niagara Falls that resulted in the 1896 Tesla victory that transmitted alternating current electricity to Buffalo, making it the "City of Light" where the downward rushing water of the Falls powered the world's first AC electric streetcars, street lamps, and grain elevators.
The exhibition website observes Reitzenstein's work has "eschewed the natural object in favor of making an industrial object more natural. The concise gesture of an electrical tower curving back into the earth immediately evokes the sense of an entity with an organic inner life, an icon of the civilized world apparently aspiring to reacquaint itself with the actual earth from which it originated."
"We have been inspired since the inception of this project by this district's history of innovation, industry, and imagination," notes Howard Zemsky, a principal in the Larkin Development Group, the owner of the parcel where the installation is parked, not far from the Seneca Street site where Jacob F. Schoellkopf, founder of the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co., operated a sheepskin tannery shortly after the Civil War. "Art and in this case the public sculpture on display reflects these important ideas and ideals."
The regionwide exhibition is expected to attract 80,000 visitors during its run, which extends thru January 16, 2011. It includes over 100 artists and spans 25 venues throughout Western New York. The show includes 7 pieces of public sculpture. The Reitzenstein work will be permanent. ALP Steel, located at Exchange and Larkin streets, donated the steel for the sculpture and provided assistance with transportation and installation, making possible the neighborhood's participation in the exhibition.
Be sure to check out Reinhard Reitzenstein's audio statement on his work here.
I can't believe we have a real piece of art in our neighborhood. I love it.
Posted by: Mary | September 25, 2010 at 08:18 AM
Very nice!
Posted by: wcp | September 25, 2010 at 04:11 PM
I just feel that cool structure such as this could have much more of an aestetically pleasing impact if it was mounted over a road like the Third Ward structure in Milwuakee. Wikipedia Milwuakee to see what I mean. I feel such over the road structures could drastically beautify Buffalo.
Posted by: Evan | February 02, 2011 at 03:21 PM