One of the most popular artist installations within the GLEAM exhibition at the Olbrich Gardens, "The Fire Monkeys" is the creation by local artists Laurie Rossbach & Jennika Bastian. According to the Chinese (and Korean) zodiac, it is the year of the Monkey.
The installation hearkened me back to the beautiful lanterns I saw while in Korea, in the Lotus Lantern Parade, at the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, and at Seoul's annual fall Lantern exhibit. The Fire Monkeys were also created out of paper (in Korea it was called hanji paper), wire, and paint.
While walking around the gardens at night, I heard the yelping monkey sounds well before I arrived at the willow tree. Each of the monkey sculptures glowed as if on fire, which is one of the four purified elements within Buddhism.
No comments:
Post a Comment