Saturday 13 October 2007

Water Sculpture

I'm glad to see Brussels getting into art and installations, even if I don't like a particular piece, as they enliven the capital with their often quirky and eccentric presence.

This is a water fountain/sculpture at Schuman, possibly to celebrate EU Maritime Policy Month, or something similar that is causing spontaneous joy and dancing in the streets all the way to Parc.

It is easy to criticise such EU nonsense and modern art, but to be a bit more balanced I have to say that this is an inventive piece.

By using controllers to start and stop the water, often for micro-seconds, words and images appear in the falling water, such as 'maritime' in this picture. Clever stuff, but I suspect someone's been having fun as I kept seeing a shower of falling willies appearing.

Some may doubt the wisdom of such an installation in rain soaked Brussels, but if you stand in the right place on a clear morning as the Sun's first rays hit the falling water, one can see a golden shower raining over Berlaymont.

Sheer poetry.

1 comment:

Daphne Wayne-Bough said...

I walked past it yesterday but it wasn't switched on. Ok it was half past one in the morning. But I did notice that half of Schuman roundabout has disappeared! When did that happen??? I know I don't get out very much, but really ...