sculpture or trash?

[MotoMike]

Recently in my town, the long existing bridge across the Mississippi was imploded after construction of it's replacement.  The old Savanna-Sabula bridge has been there since the 30s and was always known to me.  In my life I remember it painted silver, red and most recently blue.   Today following doctors orders for my hip recovery my grandson and I took a walk along the river near the site of the old bridge.  we found the attached piece of steel.  clearly remnant of the implosion.  probably about 20 inches long and every bit of 35 pounds.  some of the red and blue are visible on the piece.  

Am I reaching if I see a garden sculpture in this?   maybe with a blacksmith finish mounted on a stained 8x8 ?   just thinking.  other ideas?   

 

[Marc1]

That is a relic and part of your own past. Mount it on an industrial looking base untouched. A section of H beam or riveted to a large flat bar sunken in a pyramidal concrete base, and a little plate engraved with a description and dates. 

[MotoMike]

Marc, that isn't a bad couple of ideas.  more food for thought.  I have not deadline, so plenty of time to consider. 

M

[Frosty]

It's an interesting shape and shows the plastic nature of steel. There are "artspeak" programs online you feed a phrase words, etc. into and it gives you something pretentiously at speaky. I can think of some possibilities, the light and shadow play cast on a building wall could be attractive. It'd depend on where and what kind of lights you mounted, the base and it's orientation, maybe rotating or swaying or . . . ? It's got a good story, maybe something to research and tell. 

Endless possibilities.

But to address your original question "Sculpture or trash," all depends on whether you display it or throw it away doesn't it? 

Personally I like it, I'd have to give serious thought on how to get Deb to allow it in the yard somewhere. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Daswulf]

That Is a sculpture! Make a base and post to hold it upright. It has history And industrial significance. 

[MotoMike]

Thanks guys.   If you are curious, here is the bridge in it's last seconds...  the guys in the pickup on the new bridge on the right apparently had to do something and  then get out of there.  

 

[Daswulf]

Judging from that it certainly looks like a piece blasted to heck. Were it me I'd display it as is. 

[MotoMike]

thanks Das

[Ohio]

I'm with Das. That's neat.

You could always write up what you have here to give it a provenance and tuck it away somewhere, maybe in a waterproof container kept near wherever you put it or engraved, mounted, and set nearby. Or not.

Is anyone else reminded of the Shelley poem, "Ozymandias?" (This moment of artsy pretentiousness brought to you by six of the seven liberal arts.)

[Daswulf]

I like that idea. Make a little plaque with the bridge name and when it was constructed (if known) and when it was demolished.

[Glenn]

Paint it with clear paint to protect the existing patina.

[Frosty]

I don't think that qualified as IMploded, it looked darned EXploded to me. Whichever, it's ploded now for sure . The pickup was probably watching for river traffic so some smart cookie with a speedboat didn't have time to get within flying debris range for a good view. That's a big concern doing demolition.

Ozymandias? No, it didn't occur to me, the bridge was more ploded than the sculpture in the desert. Well . . . maybe if you associate the bridge piers with sculpted legs standing in the desert, then. . . . Oh drats, now I'm thinking of classical art speak! Curse you in Ohio!

So, mount the remains on a stand so it represents a twisted sneer with the poem and a picture of the remaining bridge piers engraved on a plaque behind it. Poem engraved between the piers of course, it's built, ploded dates go below.

Now get out of my head Ohio! 

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Ohio]

Frosty, dude, you're so literal. I was going for the idea of the poem, not the sculpture---how you look at something you think will last forever and how...not so much.

So, MotoMike, whatcha think? Know what you're going to do with it? 

[MotoMike]

Thanks for the ideas everyone.  Ohio, not yet.  quality work takes time.  (that's what I always tell my wife).   I feel a part of me wanting to retain the existing patina, but wish it were more interesting, you know retaining more color and some burn marks.  unfortunately, it was in the water all this time since June and probably has been well scrubbed by nature.  My initial idea was to give it a blacksmith finish with linseed oil, mount it on a thick piece of round stock from a substantial piece of timber stained a complementary color.  I like Marc's idea as well with a section of I beam acting as a column  maybe with a thick piece of plate as the capitol and the artifact mounted atop that.  There is a scrap yard right near by that would be a target rich environment for some sort of industrial mount.  I've got plenty of time to think about it.(god willing)

 

Frosty I too think imploded seems to be an odd description of what they did, but all the news stories of the time with interviews of those concerned made that distinction.  definitely some sort of plodin goin on.   The piers were quickly plod'ed as well.  

 

[Steve Shimanek]

I like the patina of old junk; it lends itself well to creating art. Learning to do forced patinas to match old patina is a useful skill. Art is in the eye of the beholder, be sure to wear safety glasses

[MotoMike]

11 minutes ago, Steve Shimanek said:

.. Learning to do forced patinas to match old patina is a useful skill. ..

Steve if you were to speak on this subject in more detail,  I'd appreciate it

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I would go metal detecting, looking for more pieces from that bridge, so many ideas pop into my head.

[ausfire]

Just caught up with this one MM. Great post - thanks.

Undoubtedly, that is sculpture! I go along with all the ideas expressed above and I'm sure you'll come up with a mounting that reflects its beauty and history.

I found the video disturbing.  What a cruel fate for that grand old lady of a bridge. Was it not in the realm of possibility to allow it to co-exist with its modern neighbour? Could it not have had a walkway constructed for people to enjoy the structure and perhaps throw a line in the river?  We let things of beauty and historical significance go much too easily. (Spoken by a museum curator who cherishes old things).

[JustAnotherViking]

Cost dependent, a small plaque with a laser engraved photo of the bridge and a few dates would look nice set into the timber

[Steve Shimanek]

Forced patina recipes will vary depending on the metal; one method on iron or steel is heat, followed by salt and hydrogen peroxide applied in cycles, with light abrasion in between applications. Concrete cleaner is another method, but the fumes are harsh. Sealing an item in a closed atmosphere with vinegar also works. Try to google "forced rusting" or "forced patina" will return lots of results. I had a metal sculpture using an old chain link and a flange that i welded together, and needed to match the patina; the above techniques were useful and turned out well. I then sealed the piece with clear spray lacquer or similar.

[Daswulf]

On 9/23/2018 at 5:15 AM, ausfire said:

Was it not in the realm of possibility to allow it to co-exist with its modern neighbour?

It always seems to come down to money and liability. I'd bet they had no intention of upkeep, and maybe no interested parties to try to convert it, and surely they would consider it a liability. 

Many beautiful old buildings, barns, bridges or whatnot get destroyed often around my area atleast. It is nice on the rare occasion something is restored or preserved. 

 

[MotoMike]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 4:15 AM, ausfire said:

...I found the video disturbing.  What a cruel fate for that grand old lady of a bridge... 

Thanks for the support.  Aus the story was that it like many bridges had not been maintained (Illinois) and had reached the point it was not economically feasible to keep it there.  I should have posted here as it was approaching it's demise as the bridge could be had for free for someone who wanted to set it up somewhere.  But sadly there were no takers.  

 

Das you are right it appears

 

JAV I like those ideas as well.  hoping not to get too carried away.

Iron Dragon.  I'll walk the area for sure.  Three local brothers who are iron workers and pipe fitters have volunteered to make something for the park just south of the bridge and they were given a great deal of the wreckage, so will visit and see about getting some bottle opener sized pieces

 

Steve thanks for that info. 

 

[Daswulf]

I know atleast southwestern PA is bad with that. Heck, the bridge they blew up was probably better than most of our mainly travelled bridges. 

There Are a few old steel (maybe even iron) bridges where I offroad on the cheat river that are amazing that they don't just collapse. I love them but wow are they rough. 

A few pictures for fun. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Here in Arkansas the bridge replacement program mandates that the old bridge be removed. Something to do with Federal money matches or something like that. We have been fighting for several decades to save the Beaver suspension bridge (little Golden Gate) from being replaced with that program. So far successful.

http://stateoftheozarks.net/culture/history/bridges/beaverbridge.php

 

[ausfire]

Thanks for the link, Irondragon. I had a look at all of those bridges. I hope they all get a reprieve. The Y bridge architecture is superb.