Public installations have recently become a way for artists to get more recognition and appreciation. If people aren’t that keen on visiting museums anymore, artists should go out (on the streets or river banks, in this case) and go big.
As a child I was so attracted to dinosaurs (even before watching Jurassic Park), that I’m amazed now that I haven’t picked up paleontology. Luckily, I’m not the only one with this passion, but unlike me, some have the chance of turning their long-erased-from-the-face-of-the-Earth beloved creatures into something palpable. The following full-scale T-Rex sculpture was made by French dino-lover and sculptor Philippe Pasqua.
Even persons who are not familiar with all the dinosaurs out there know that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was among the fiercest beings to roam the Earth millions of years ago. Pasqua’s taste for the monumental is best expressed in this life-size T-Rex sculpture, but his usual works shouldn’t be neglected, either. Apparently, the artist also has an attraction for humankind’s vulnerability, his previous paintings and sculptures including all sorts of stigmatized people, from the ones who suffer from the Down syndrome to blind ones.
Back to the matter at hand, though, the full-size T-Rex sculpture that adorns the river bank of Seine these days was made out of chrome, so watching this piece of art in direct sunlight should be mesmerizing. More precisely, 350 chrome molded bones were used for the 3 by 6 meter framework. The strong skull, the long tail that was used both for maintaining balance and for hitting as well as the razor-sharp teeth, everything is so accurately detailed that apart from the silver accents, nothing else would give this away.
The role of this sculpture is to give art-lovers an additional thing to admire. At the same time, the full-scale T-Rex sculpture will undoubtedly shock some of the passersby, as it’s not everyday that you see the skeleton of a ferocious creature on the riverbank of Seine. One of the best things about the location of this sculpture is that from certain angles, one could encompass the life-size T-Rex, the Eiffel Tower, as well as other trademarks of Paris.
After the full-scale T-Rex sculpture and the inflatable duck that swam in harbors from all around the world, it’s difficult to say what we should expect next from today’s artists, as they’re quite unpredictable.
If you liked this post, please check the Face Forward kinetic sculpture and the Metalmorphosis hallucinatory anamorphic kinetic fountain.
