Metropolis II - Chris Burden

This is a fascinating kinetic sculpture by artist Chris Burden called Metropolis II (below).  It is currently on exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  

 The sculpture's name alone conjures comparisons with the 1927 German Expressionist film Metropolis by Fritz Lang (below).

I really enjoy the spaces and relationships that are created between buildings, roadway, track and how the circulating vehicles approach and weave through the model of this 21st Century City.  

I've always had an appreciation for model railroad sets and seeing the scaled versions of places that people create.  Most model railroad scenes take place in a nostalgic period of Americana and the heyday of the railroad in the United States.  Part of what makes this sculpture so interesting to me is that the artist applied the concept of model railroads, cars, and buildings to a futuristic time period.  While watching the video about the Metropolis II that I posted below, I was really intrigued by all of the cars zipping and whirring around contrasted with the slow, steady movement of the trains lazily winding their way. 

Not to be missed are the specifications of the sculpture:

Height: 9 feet, 9 inches

Width: 28 feet, 3 inches

Depth: 19 feet, 2 inches

Materials used: Three ½ hp DC motors with motor controllers, 1100 custom manufactured die-cast cars, 13 HO-scale train sets with controllers and tracks, steel, aluminum, shielded copper wire, copper sheet, brass, various plastics, assorted woods and manufactured wood products, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Dado Cubes, glass, ceramic and natural stone tiles, acrylic and oil-base paints, rubber, sundry adhesives.

 

If you can't make it to the exhibit, check out this video on the piece.  Don't miss the end of the video with a camera mounted on top one of the trains providing a unique perspective through the sculpture.