Greetings from your neighborhood food and beverage reporter!
You might recognize my face or my writing from typically food or business related articles here on CU. Not art reviews. I (except for today) leave that to the talented Jeff Regensburger and Ashley Steward.
However, the new sculpture Current by Janet Echelman, perched above the intersection of Gay and High Streets Downtown, has sparked some interesting thoughts in my brain.
I see the dips and swoops of the red and blue netting from the window by my desk. The honeycomb pattern that anchors the sculpture to the four corner buildings. The massive cables, anchors and pulleys that keep the sculpture suspended and make me feel like I’ve got just a little bit of my engineering father in me as I think, “Wow, I wonder how this all works.”
There’s also definitely a “net hanging from a building” quality to it.
All I keep thinking about is if I jumped into the sculpture, would it hold me? You know how if you are doing some sort of aerial activity even if you are harnessed in, there’s a net under you? It reminds me of that.
There’s another popular interpretation in our office — veins and arteries. The sister of an echo tech, our Account Executive Bonnie Vue says it reminders her of an echocardiogram scan.
And it’s all valid. It’s all great.
I also think it’s really interesting and I’m glad I get to watch its life from right outside my window. (You better believe I will be standing in the middle of the street for photo ops the first time a storm rolls in. I can’t wait to see this thing in the wind and the rain.)
Every time Ashley or Jeff turn in a review, I am awed by the parallels they draw and language they use to describe what they are seeing. It’s a fascinating and very specific way for a brain to work and I immensely appreciate their talent.
My summation of aerial catch-net is not the most becoming description, but I like to think there’s room for all of us. Including my own non-art eyes and everyone else who sees a different kind of life force in the sculpture’s 229-foot length.
I actually used to paint a lot. I’ve always really enjoyed art, but let myself get intimidated by feeling like there had to be some big, grand message behind it. I painted because I liked to paint. My work didn’t necessarily mean anything — it was what it was.
Many artists do weave fascinating meaning and intentions into their work and it can be such a powerful expression.
According to a description of the work, “Echelman drew inspiration from the evolution of Downtown Columbus and its role throughout history as a place of innovation and light. The city was one of the early adopters of street arches illuminated by gas lighting, and electricity has historically been a core industry for Columbus. Echelman’s colors transition gradually from red to blue, leading visitors from the red bricks of the city’s earliest buildings to its vibrant riverfront park. The title Current holds dual meaning, alluding to both river current and electric current of the iconic lighted archways, visualizing a flow of energy. The floating tapestry will glow after dark in a dramatic nighttime illumination.”
Cool. Giant floaty net? Also cool.
Whether you share my net views, resonate with the dual meaning of the work’s name, love it, hate it, or worry about birds flying into it, the fun thing is, it’s getting us all talking and thinking about art more.
A public art piece like this is such a unique conversation starter, that in my opinion lowers the barrier to what can be an intimidating world. As you walk past it or drive under it, you’re going to notice and you’re going to feel something about it. And enjoy that feeling for whatever it is. Congrats. You’re now a patron of the arts.
All photos by Susan Post