Sure, the headline is not likely to live on in memory like Neil Armstrong's famous line when the Apollo 11 Eagle landed on the moon in 1969 (listen to him - it still sends chills), but seeing the final section of Alexander Calder's Eagle lowered into place recently was a memorable sight, nonetheless.
Real eagles, as well as the afore mentioned lunar module, really fly and land (check these wonderful shots by photographer Doug Lloyd if you haven't seen any bald eagles do either lately). But monumental sculpture, like the Olympic Sculpture Park's iconic Eagle, are very carefully "flown" into place.
While the "beak" (or tail, I'm still not sure) seen dangling from a crane is reminiscent of Calder's well-known mobiles, Eagle is one of his best-know stabile pieces. Created in 1971, during the latter part of Calder's career, it was one of several works that helped define a whole new period of public sculpture. Weighing in at around 6 tons and standing over 38' tall, it was never meant to leave the ground.
But in 1972, not long after Calder created Eagle, he was approached to apply the colorful abstract ideas displayed in his mobiles in an entirely new way - by painting a DC-8. He replied, "It would be a flying mobile. I like that." The idea, and the bird, flew.
Learn more: the Braniff story | the installation | Seattle Times images by Erika Schultz
I can't wait for my next trip to my beloved Seattle, so I will have the Sculpture Park to see as well!
Posted by: Anna Maria | October 20, 2006 at 09:08 PM