Rad der Zeit (with apologies to W.Herzog)
Visitors to Crossing Europe may, if they raise their eyes, notice a new arrival taking shape on the Linz skyline:
Red Ferris Wheel as a Landmark
Level 14, the uppermost floor of the multistorey car park, serves as the pedestal for a Rieger Ferris wheel standing 26 meters tall. It is a both a perfectly straightforward fairground attraction and a cultural emblem and landmark that is visible from afar: the Basque artist Maider López has manipulated the wheel’s colour scheme in a way that transforms it into a sculpture and she is even capable of making it disappear into thin air using digital tricks.
"Disappear into thin air"?! It looks pretty solid at the minute, gradually being assembled - with the help of a rather large crane parked on the adjoining road - just behind the vast building that houses the festival office, Moviemento cinema, OK exhibition-space and 'Golden Crocodile' restaurant (broccoli-cream soup is especially recommended for an inter-movie snack).
The red wheel isn't so different from the original Ferris wheel, constructed for the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 by the doomed-genius inventor, George W G Ferris - who died, aged 37, only three years later. His story forms a fascinating subplot for a terrific non-fiction book by Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City, which I can strongly recommend if you seek an enthralling, intelligent page-turner for your next beach (or mountain, or city) getaway. There's been talk of a film-adaptation ever since original publication in 2003, and a few months back David Fincher was said to be "interested" in getting involved with the project.
The Linz wheel - a cheeky "challenger" to the legendary riesenrad in Vienna's Prater, immortalised in Carol Reed's The Third Man - is a coming attraction with a definite arrival date, however. "Thursday, 28 May 2009, 8:53 p.m. (Sunset)" to be (extremely) precise. Who knows -- perhaps the arrival of the wheel will inspire a "Local Artist" to come up with a Dritte Mann type thriller, to be showcased - where else - but at Crossing Europe... 2010.
Red Ferris Wheel as a Landmark
Level 14, the uppermost floor of the multistorey car park, serves as the pedestal for a Rieger Ferris wheel standing 26 meters tall. It is a both a perfectly straightforward fairground attraction and a cultural emblem and landmark that is visible from afar: the Basque artist Maider López has manipulated the wheel’s colour scheme in a way that transforms it into a sculpture and she is even capable of making it disappear into thin air using digital tricks.
"Disappear into thin air"?! It looks pretty solid at the minute, gradually being assembled - with the help of a rather large crane parked on the adjoining road - just behind the vast building that houses the festival office, Moviemento cinema, OK exhibition-space and 'Golden Crocodile' restaurant (broccoli-cream soup is especially recommended for an inter-movie snack).
The red wheel isn't so different from the original Ferris wheel, constructed for the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 by the doomed-genius inventor, George W G Ferris - who died, aged 37, only three years later. His story forms a fascinating subplot for a terrific non-fiction book by Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City, which I can strongly recommend if you seek an enthralling, intelligent page-turner for your next beach (or mountain, or city) getaway. There's been talk of a film-adaptation ever since original publication in 2003, and a few months back David Fincher was said to be "interested" in getting involved with the project.
The Linz wheel - a cheeky "challenger" to the legendary riesenrad in Vienna's Prater, immortalised in Carol Reed's The Third Man - is a coming attraction with a definite arrival date, however. "Thursday, 28 May 2009, 8:53 p.m. (Sunset)" to be (extremely) precise. Who knows -- perhaps the arrival of the wheel will inspire a "Local Artist" to come up with a Dritte Mann type thriller, to be showcased - where else - but at Crossing Europe... 2010.
Neil Young - 20. Apr, 15:01
