BIG BAMBÚ

this week, my vacation, we visited big bambú, an installation by doug + mike starns, identical twins, atop the metropolitan museum of art in new york city. one can take a special tour through the bamboo structure, but cameras (or any hand-held items) are not allowed on the tour. however, one can walk underneath the structure and snap away. in this shot of the structure looking north you can see people within the structure taking a tour:early morning cityscape looking south:
and looking west:
here's a photo from underneath a walkway. i was really frustrated i couldn't bring my camera up through the structure; it was photo-worthy!
a platform and walkway. the structure flexed a bit in places when i walked on it. it's almost entirely made of bamboo and nylon climber's rope. i saw only a few steel cables tethering the structure to the roof, and one or two cable ties.
another walkway. one walkway has a bench and they all have handrails. the walkways are uneven. one must wear sneakers (no sandals or flip flops allowed and no skirts, for obvious reasons!)
the lashings are beautiful...
here's a bamboo storage area. we visited during the work week, so the artists were there continuing to build the structure. the plan is to add a second level by the end of august. in fall, the structure will be dismantled, perhaps to be rebuilt elsewhere.
more lashings. what a lot of work to make this and more to take it down!
me, reflected by a mirrored roof on the north side of the structure. the installation is supposed to evoke a wave. for me, it is the "swiss family robinson" house oddly placed in an urban setting. others on the tour were moved by the seeming chaos within the rigid city. the starn's installation is a wonderful new york experience intensified by temporariness.