Come watch a three-story sculpture burn
Sculpture Fields at Montague Park, Chattanooga’s relatively new prodigious artistic endeavor, is now the largest sculpture park in the Southeast. It spans 33 acres with almost 50 sculptures from artists all over the world, while 1.5 miles of walking trails wind through the Commemorative Forest where more than 100 trees creep slowly towards the sun.
This Saturday, the park will hold “Spring into Sculpture”, a special event to commemorate the shift of the seasons. The event will include numerous festivities, headlined with a Burn designed and crafted specifically for this momentous celebration.
Unfamiliar with the term? A sculpture from the contemplative mind of Chattanooga artist Andrew Nigh will be constructed for the sole purpose of burning it to ashes. Nigh has designed more than 50 fire sculptures for a variety of events, including wedding receptions and even the notoriously famous Burning Man Festival.
The day’s activities will begin at noon with the inferno striking at 9:15 p.m. (weather permitting). Entrance to the family-friendly event is free to the public and will offer a variety of other draws including a laser light show, live creative painting and drawing sessions from various artists, live music, a beer and wine tent, and some of your favorite food trucks like Clumpies, Chatterbox, Kona Ice, and Dolly’s Smokehouse.
The Creative Discovery Museum will also be sending their Discovery Bus for the enjoyment of curious young minds.
The new sculpture field has been a long and rewarding process for those involved, and they are excited to share it with the Chattanooga community.
“We’re lucky to have some of the best modern and contemporary sculpture in the world right on our doorstep, and celebrating with the community during Spring into Sculpture is a great way to explore it,” says Anne Rushing, the executive director of Sculpture Fields.
“Take a tour with sculptor Isaac Duncan III at 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. and learn even more about the how and why of their creation. Then maybe go home and get a little creative yourself.”
With growing popularity, burns are interesting and beautiful experiences that can be enjoyed by any age group with any set of interests.
“‘Continuum’ will be a three-story fire sculpture that consists of a base pediment upon which four vertical ellipses rise to surround a central core. The piece will begin its dissolution from the top down, illuminating the core with brilliant flashes of magnesium before igniting the surrounding staves and finally the base structure. As the supports become compromised by the flames, the structure should collapse in a downward, rotating fashion,” says the sculpture’s creator.
“The design references the nonlinear cycles of nature and life. The elements of which it is constructed were born of the fire from a dying star, assimilated into the wood and soon released to the cosmos to repeat the cycle. The end of this piece becomes a function of the beginning of something new in the very distant future.”
A fire of this magnitude alone is a treat to anyone who finds their fondest hours spent by the side of a campfire with good friends and family. To have the experience of diving into the mind of an amazing artist and sharing in their vision, flowing with them in a creative state, and reaching a culmination of artistic expression is sure to be an unbelievable and unforgettable experience.
“Sculpture Fields and what it has to offer is something very special for Chattanooga. It brings together art and science in a beautiful alchemy,” elaborates Rushing. Sculpture Fields is yet another leap forward for a town that is so deeply and inherently ingrained in the beautiful arts.