Big Bambú
Encyclopedia
Big Bambú: You Can't, You Don't, and You Won't Stop is a piece of installation art
by identical twin artists Doug and Mike Starn
.
Big Bambú had its first installation in the artists' studio in Beacon, New York
. In the summer of 2010 it was the featured exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden
. It is tentatively scheduled to open at the Detroit Institute of Arts
in 2011.
Big Bambú is made of thousands of bamboo
poles, lashed together to form a complex structure through which visitors walk on elevated bamboo paths even as a crew continues to build a new part of the structure.
The first part of the name is taken from the Cheech & Chong album Big Bambu
while the second part is a line from Sure Shot
by the Beastie Boys
.
is conceived as a giant wave cresting over the rooftop. Art critic Karen Wilkin
wrote that the experience of walking on the roof terrace under the sculpture felt like "wandering through a bamboo grove." She described the piece as not a "significant sculpture... it's more of a phenomenon. But it's a delightful addition to the Met for the next six months—a temporary, ecologically correct folly designed to entertain."
Big Bambú is built of several types of bamboo, primarily a Japanese type called Madake, and also thin Meyeri bamboo and thick moso bamboo. All of the bamboo was grown in Georgia and South Carolina.The construction was undertaken by the artists working together with a team of twenty qualified rock climbers. Construction will continue throughout the exhibition's six month run, with the sculpture ultimately reaching 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, 50 feet high and using 3,200 bamboo poles. Museum visitors are required to wear rubber-soled, close-toed shoes if they wish to climb through the structure. Tickets are free but in limited supply. Visitors can walk underneath the sculpture without obtaining a timed ticket and wearing whatever shoes they choose.
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
by identical twin artists Doug and Mike Starn
Doug and Mike Starn
Doug and Mike Starn are American artists and identical twin brothers who produce their works of art as a team.The Starn brothers grew up in New Jersey and attended School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, graduating in 1984. They continued to live in Boston until 1989, when they moved to New...
.
Big Bambú had its first installation in the artists' studio in Beacon, New York
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
. In the summer of 2010 it was the featured exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden
Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden is a rooftop terrace, art venue and restaurant open in the warm weather months at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Roof Garden offers "breathtaking" views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. The garden is the gift of philanthropists...
. It is tentatively scheduled to open at the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
in 2011.
Big Bambú is made of thousands of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
poles, lashed together to form a complex structure through which visitors walk on elevated bamboo paths even as a crew continues to build a new part of the structure.
The first part of the name is taken from the Cheech & Chong album Big Bambu
Big Bambu
Big Bambú is the second album by Cheech & Chong, released in 1972. The name Big Bambu is a reference to a type of rolling paper made by the Bambu company; the original LP sleeve was designed by Ernie Cefalu and manufactured to look like a giant rolling paper package, and originally contained a...
while the second part is a line from Sure Shot
Sure Shot
"Sure Shot" is a song by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released as the third single from their 1994 album Ill Communication. The single was released a few days after the release of the album, on May 31, 1994.-Release:...
by the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
.
First installation
In the original installation in the artists studio in Beacon, New York, Big Bambú is in continual motion as a crew disassembles one end and continues to build the other end. The piece was reconfigured into a gothic letter "T" to be photographed for the cover of the fifth anniversary edition of the New York Times style magazine.Metropolitan Museum installation
The installation on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
is conceived as a giant wave cresting over the rooftop. Art critic Karen Wilkin
Karen Wilkin
Karen Wilkin is a New York-based independent curator and art critic specializing in 20th century modernism. Educated at Barnard College and Columbia University, she was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship, to Rome...
wrote that the experience of walking on the roof terrace under the sculpture felt like "wandering through a bamboo grove." She described the piece as not a "significant sculpture... it's more of a phenomenon. But it's a delightful addition to the Met for the next six months—a temporary, ecologically correct folly designed to entertain."
Big Bambú is built of several types of bamboo, primarily a Japanese type called Madake, and also thin Meyeri bamboo and thick moso bamboo. All of the bamboo was grown in Georgia and South Carolina.The construction was undertaken by the artists working together with a team of twenty qualified rock climbers. Construction will continue throughout the exhibition's six month run, with the sculpture ultimately reaching 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, 50 feet high and using 3,200 bamboo poles. Museum visitors are required to wear rubber-soled, close-toed shoes if they wish to climb through the structure. Tickets are free but in limited supply. Visitors can walk underneath the sculpture without obtaining a timed ticket and wearing whatever shoes they choose.