The giant inflatable art sculptures swaying in the wind at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden are truly lovely spectacles — the only thing negative to say about this outdoor art exhibit is that it is so short-lived and will only last through Friday night, so haul yourself over to the gardens asap.
There have been a couple versions of Giants in the City, including the inaugural one during Art Basel 2008 thanks to a Knight Art Challenge grant
Giants in the City at the botanical garden
to ArtFormz. This one — curated by founder Alejandro Mendoza — is the biggest one yet, and the setting is just spectacular. Amid the array of tropical flora, and with the unforgettable smell from the 72-year-old Ylang Ylang tree perfuming the entire garden, 25 soaring inflatables dance with the leaves and the visitors as they toss and turn in the breeze. The sculptures, shaped and painted by notable artists, are made from tear resistant, water-repellent nylon but can be blown up or deflated within minutes (and can tower as high as 30 feet).
Here in the botanical garden, the art works line walkways and gather in the central grassy area. Like the mural-sized shaman head from Frank Hyder, with its ceremonial painted face and pierced nose and ears, which immediately grabs your attention. Or the leg from Yovani Bauta, with its foot up in the air tapping the palm fronds that sits across from the “Dagger” from Sergio Garcia. On one walkway, the array of sculptures viewed from either end of the path is breathtaking: there are a couple of white pieces, one of which can look like a grouping of three missiles but is in fact labeled as a “Family” (from Gino Tozzi) that interact with a much more colorful, spiked creature and a green serpent that snakes along the grass, from Edouard Duval-Carrie.
There are so many other works that will catch your particular fancy, thanks to the nice job of Mendoza in the choices and the placement, and to that gem of a garden. On children’s day on Aug. 3, kids were poking the sculptures, smelling the flowers, and leaping about the grounds having a grand old time, along with their parents. Because really, what’s not to like?
Friday evening the public art project, co-sponsored by Irreversible Magazine, will get a giant send off with a closing party, when the sculptures will come alive under a different, night-time light.
“Giants in the City” at Miami Beach Botanical Garden through Aug. 6, 2000 Convention Ctr. Dr., Miami Beach; www.mbgarden.org. Giant closing party from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., Aug. 6.
I’ve been there three times and I still feel I haven’t spent enough time
with each of the “Giants” – savoring its uniqueness. “Breathtaking”
is indeed the word, Anne, yet ephemeral (as you also state), even though the exhibit has been at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden for
six days, of which today is the last.
I am proud that, as President of Culture in the City, I was the first
to recognize the potential for “Giants” and to sponsor “Giants” for a
grant from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. The
joy this exhibition has brought to children and their parents (seeing young eyes widen with excitement) demonstrates the value of such
cultural events.
And, yes, you who have not seen this exhibition should “haul yourself over to the gardens asap.” Tonight we celebrate “Giants in the City”–
brought to us by Culture in the City, and the amazing artists who created
the “Giants.”
even that it’s in spanish here is a video about the Giant in the City
enjoy!
http://www.vozz.tv/portal/2010/08/16/en-miami-giants-in-the-city/