Ghost Ballet for the Eastbank Machineworks - Nashville, TN
N 36° 09.790 W 086° 46.331
16S E 520490 N 4002069
The $250,000 public project of aluminum and neon is funded through Nashville’s “percent-for-art” ordinance, which sets aside for public art 1% of the net proceeds of bonds issued to pay for city construction projects. By artist Alice Aycock.
Waymark Code: WM2X2C
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 01/02/2008
Views: 124
The city's first percent for art work – a 100-foot tall,100-foot wide and 60-foot deep sculpture – was installed on the East Bank Greenway in spring 2007. This new civic amenity will enhance the east bank of the Cumberland River between the Coliseum and the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge, across the river from the foot of Broadway.
Ghost Ballet combines elements representing the heritage of Nashville’s east bank as well as the momentum and energy associated with Nashville today. Components of the structure are reminiscent of the industries that dominated the east side of the river from the mid-1800s until the Coliseum was completed in 1999.
The artwork will sit on the remnant of a gantry crane once used by Nashville Bridge Company to build and launch barges.
While the structure is stationary, its creator believes its sense of movement will engage viewers. “It is a work of ‘static animation,’ one that seeks to connect the heritage of this place with a future
that will rely on technology moving at the speed of light,” said Aycock, whose work is also displayed in such distinguished venues as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum
of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her extensive works of public art are seen throughout the country in locations such as the
new San Francisco Public Library and Philadelphia International Airport.
“The piece will capture the athleticism of a performer and the confidence of a city that is comfortable with its identity as the home of American music and one of this country’s true emerging cities,” she continued. “Its presence will be a focal point for the east bank and will perceptually extend Broadway in a visual way. As one studies it, the piece will pull them in and then visually push
them back to see the big picture of all that happens around it – the stadium, the pedestrian bridge, the interstate, the greenway, residential neighborhoods, and the river.”
Title: Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks
Artist: Alice Aycock
Media (materials) used: Stainless Steel, Neon, Industrial Metals
Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Cumberland River between the Coliseum and the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge
Date of creation or placement: Spring 2007
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