Any art installation is like a theatrical production. There are many parts of the show that need to

Any art installation is like a theatrical production. There are many parts of the show that need to be coordinated such as: the installation checklist, the layout in the gallery and the lighting. But when installing a 9-ton contemporary sculpture in a 19th c. building, that production becomes a bit more like Cirque de Soleil. This was the case with Kaws, Along the Way.The first thing to determine was whether the floor of the museum’s lobby could sustain the weight of the sculpture. A large portion of the lobby is excavated below for basement space. These areas could not sustain the weight, but there is a small section of the original 19th c lobby that sits on unexcavated ground. Luckily, this area also is where’s the ceiling height is the highest at 23 feet. The sculpture is 18 feet tall and could be installed in this portion of the lobby with a 4” clearance for the lift equipment. The Museum’s structural engineers Silman were consulted on all aspects of the installation planning.  After a location was determined, the method and the mechanics of the installation needed to be worked out. Specialized art riggers with experience in installing large, heavy, but delicate objects are needed for this type of installation. Mariano Brothers provided a plan outlining the types of rigging equipment needed to do the installation. The two rigs needed for this installation each weighed around 9000 pounds;  this coupled with the weight of the sculpture which would arrive in 16 separate pieces to be assembled, was too much weight for portions of the floor.  Silman advised on locations where we needed to have the floor reinforced from below to make this installation possible. Safeway Atlantic was hired to provide the reinforcement for the floor. After all that, we were ready to proceed with the installation.The sculptures fit together with a system of rods and bolts, but there is a certain amount of variability in how the parts fit together that made the installation challenging. Each join needed to be correct before proceeding with the next. The sculpture was built by first placing the feet, then securing the legs to the body. The body and legs were rigged and set into place. When a small tweak had to be made in placement, due to the weight, the rig was needed to move a section a few inches. The section to be moved had to be strapped and delicately shifted, sometimes just ½ inch. This is a difficult thing to do when operating big equipment and moving a foot that weighs more than 2600 pounds.  It was often a very complicated and delicate dance between the riggers and the sculpture high in the air like trapeze artists. Once installed, the sculpture was given a protective coating of teak oil by Art Installation Design, the company who worked with the riggers on installing Along The Way.  Posted by Lisa Bruno         -- source link

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