mike + doug starn: big bambu at the venice biennale
mike + doug starn: big bambu at the venice biennale image © designboom
currently on display at the 54th venice biennale is ‘big bambú’, an evolutionary and complex structure by american artists and brothers mike and doug starn. previously installed on the roof of the metropolitan museum of art in new york – where it ranked forth in the world for total attendance of a contemporary exhibition in 2010 – the piece is being presented as an official collateral exhibition, part of a special project by glasstress.
view of top part of the structure image © designboom
sculptural and experiential, the hollow bamboo structure features a spiraling and undulating trail which leads visitors to an expansive lounge fifty feet above the grand canal. meandering through the courtyard of casa artom next to the peggy guggenheim collection, the organic and woven maze remains in a state of constant flux, complete but never at rest. the artists, along with a crew of eleven rock climbers, will continue to lash together more than 3,000 bamboo poles, extending the pathway upwards and adding an additional fifteen to twenty feet of height until the dismantling – expected to last two weeks – begins on june 18th.
details image © designboom
mike starn states: ‘it is a sculpture, but not a static sculpture. it’s something that exists through the presence of the people inside it. it’s an organism that we, and the crew of rock climbers, are just a part of–helping to move it along. we are constructing an ongoing tower, growth and change remain invariable, and they are a constant.’
exterior image © designboom
doug starn, adds: ‘we have a philosophy of chaotic interdependence; of how every complex thing grows and evolves (animal, social structures, etc…), and ‘big bambú’ actually physically presents it, it is philosophical engineering. everything depends upon one another and the loads are distributed throughout, the interdependence is natural and fluid. there is not too much weight applied to any one thing.’
details image © designboom
in addition to the 2,000 fresh cut bamboo stalks harvested from a farm in france, the current installation utilizes several fragments salvaged from last years exhibition at the met. poles from both locations will be used again at stem cells in future projects or as stand alone sculptures, while others will be stored in europe or the united states.
the bamboo stalks directly intersect with the ground image © designboom
stairs at entrance image © designboom
detail of stairs image © designboom
spiraling trail image © designboom
the trail overlooking casa artom and the peggy guggenheim collection museum image © designboom
view on canal grande image © designboom
detail of bending pathway image © designboom
a complex network of intersecting poles image © designboom
detail of ‘wall’ image © designboom
view of san marco image © designboom
detail of connections image © designboom
rooftop lounge image © designboom
rooftop lounge image © designboom
new stalks and fragments salvaged from last years installation image © designboom
floor of rooftop lounge image © designboom
detail of pathway image © designboom
looking up at the spiraling trail image © designboom
view from canal grande image © designboom
glasstress is a collateral event of the 54th international venice biennale, which is now its its second year after it debut in 2009. conceived by adriano berengo, the contemporary art exhibition collaborates with prominent artists and designers from around the world to showcase their talent and creative expressions.
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it's disturbing to some. it's gorgeous to others. it's a new series for schön! magazine.
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philosophical engineering…?????
if Venice was not the background of those pics, this work would be nothing
wonderful, what a wild thinking it is!
Ivan, you have to admit that from a structural and engineering standpoint this is pretty amazing.
@CathS: possibly… but I don’t get the point of it. It’s not aesthetically pleasing either, at least to me. It looks more like the projection of a headache.
Everybody (or, almost everybody) can mess up, complicate things. Not a difficult task indeed. But, say, Apple is a winner because it simplifies things, rather than complicating them, which of course does not mean banalizing them.
Great experimental work ! Should be shown to bamboo basic design students about the many creative uses of bamboo and then ……. many years of research to make this lesson valuable . What will they do with bamboo poles and cords after the Biennale ? I suggest artists should know more about product life or ….. not ?
Ivan, you miss the point entirely. This is not an engineering project, it is an Art project! It is DESIGNED to be a confusing, rickety, organic, whimsical, human endeavor created by hands,not machines. If your highest aesthetic is the Apple computer then I shudder for the fate of all of us laughing, hairy, art-making monkeys.
Cool.Probably much cooler in the flesh tho.
Reminds me of a giant birds nest – which is a good thing 🙂
This would be great in a more natural setting too. Imagine finding this in a woodland and being able to climb to the top to look out over the tree tops or at an ocean view.
I do agree that industrial design can transcend its purpose when simplified yet this is not an exercise in design; it’s art and therein lies the difference.