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URGE is an interactive sculpture permanently installed at the Yerba
Buena Gardens in front of Zeum, in San Francisco, California.
It is the first in a series of similar sculptures intended to
be placed around the world.
This cast bronze and stainless machined sculpture is a departure for ARW and MacMurtrie, and
indicates a more delible marker on time, which is echoed in the
slow graceful movement of the figure activated and engaged by
the interactivity of the viewer.
When
a person or people of at least 100 lbs sits on a bench in front
of the globe, the kinetic element of the sculpture is activated.
As the bench slowly lowers, it engages a large underground lever
which activates a series of link rods driving the counterweighted
figure's movement. When the observer on the bench sits, the figure
on the globe also sits. When the observer stands, the figure slowly
rises.
The
elements of physical mirroring and mutual gaze between the figure
and the observer creates a bond that suggests the unity of the
human species on the planet. The glowing fault lines within the
globe suggest natural boundaries that deny any kind of man-made
borders. The life-sized figure's physiological structure is based on both
the male and female body, thus further joining the viewer with
the notion that there is a fundamental unity to our planet.
The
urge to rise and walk is an elemental symbol of humanity's evolution:
in MacMurtrie's poetic description of the form, the viewer connects
to these primal memories.
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