Post Gazette: "Engineers will visit Carnegie Mellon University next week to find out why 'Walking to the Sky,' a sculpture in front of Warner Hall, swayed alarmingly in the wind Tuesday.
But contrary to rumors, 'Walking to The Sky' is not falling to the ground, according to the artist and a university spokesman."
30 comments:
What a shame. If it's in no danger of falling down, why was most of the cut taped off several days ago?
I'd be more concerned about the figures falling off than anything else..
I saw some footage that someone took of the swaying, and from the looks of that I would question the stabilization of the piece. I'm pretty certain that it would be near impossible for the thing to fall down, but seeing it rock back and forth is grounds for concern.
Those cables look more like a mental safety than anything else. The scary part was that it wasn't really a windy day. Hope they figure out what caused it quickly, I'd hate to have to fix that with a good layer of snow on the ground.
I hope that there is nothing more serious than simply fixing the foundation around the statue. It would be a shame if it ended up having to be removed completely, despite some people's dislike of its location. "Walking to the Sky" is a major focal point of CMU's campus.
Yeah, it's a little scary how they roped off half the cut "just in case". However, what I really have questions about is what "more prominent" location they were going to put it in? Warner Hall seems like pretty prominent placement to me...especially since it's the first thing you see when you see CMU from the road.
As I got off the bus from the airport tonight, the saftey tape surrounding walking to the sky was the first thing I noticed. I was concerned that it was tethered to the ground, and my first thought was that it was being removed. However, I am glad this is not the case. As much sh*t as people give it and complain about it, I think it adds character to the campus.
Mental and actual safety is really important, and for that reason they should just take it down. It would be way cooler to have a huge wooden dino in its place anyways...or one made of steel that lights up and moves....that could be good too!
I agree with the majority in the sense that the sculpture does seem pretty indestructible considering how far the steel pipe continues for many many feet further beneath the sculpture. Plus if is not in danger of falling then why do they insist on taping it off?
I agree with Kendra. Right in front of Warner Hall and visible from almost every corner of Forbes and Morewood seems like a VERY prominent place to put a sculpture of that nature. It's funny to hear a lot of students had a problem with its installation. I can't imagine a lot of students would have a problem with its removal.
Shouldn't possible swaying be considered when designing a giant statue like this. If everything is normal with the statue, wouldn't this be considered a design flaw? Making your patrons worried everytime a little wind kicks in is hardly a strong design.
I feel like the tape is probably more of a hey, don't mess with this temporary rigging we have here. The statue is not going to fall, but what would be the reaction if people knew that the engineering firm was coming in, and nothing was taped off. In my opinion the statue is fine, not the greatest thing the could be, but not awful. It would however be a shame to see it removed for "safety" even though seeing it sway was pretty alarming.
I actually havent been that close to the statue since it got taped off this weekend, but i dont think its possible to have a statue with that sort of height/footprint ratio stay up permanently. Aside from its position as our favorite eye-sore knowing that its so unsafe makes me even more ready to let it come down.
I was one of the people who got to witness this honestly pretty scary event, and from watching the sculpture move, I would be more worried about it breaking in half rather then totally falling over. The video I've seen really don't seem to show just how much the top half of the thing was moving back and forth. I don't believe it covered it in the article, but there was no wind that day, and that's what worried me the most.
I'd buy tickets to see that thing come down. I don't like anything about it really. Its more of an eye sore than a work of art and should be taken down.
Falling/Walking to the sky was on the local news for the past couple days for this very reason. With our luck, it will fall and sever the server cables buried beneath it and the entire campus will be without internet. My friend from New York came down for break and when the first thing I saw showing her around campus was Walking to the Sky tethered to giant concrete blocks I burst out laughing. What a surreal experience.
I definitely remember seeing the statue swing like this in the past. It does appear to be getting a bit worse, but it isn't really that much worse than it had been before. Even if this is not a risk to the statue falling, they need to do something about the rocking because it makes the "art" look even worse than it already does. I don't really foresee anything getting done about it, even if it should be.
That statue was the scariest thing to see on Tuesday when I as leaving. It was swaying so much. I was a little disappointed coming back and seeing it still up. I definitely don't think it is that great of a piece of art.
Its all very well to claim that the piece has no chance of falling down, but after walking by it and seeing it sway rather dangerously, I still feel uneasy walking by it. And why have they roped it off if there is no danger? Mixed signals from the administration don't help calm me.
I really hope it falls. I really really hope it does. I'm sorry. I don't want anyone to get hurt or anything, but it's so so ugly. No one likes it, and it scares everyone when it sways. Especially the way it was swaying before they put up the cables. Terrifying. And those concrete blocks? Not the most ascetically pleasing things I've ever seen.
That would be kinda scary to see it swaying in the wind the way that it is described as doing; however, I was not present during the ordeal and thus have to live by the vicarious experience through this article. I do not -- nor do I believe I ever will -- find the numbers to lie. I thibnk that t hey should play it safe, but i do not think that it should pose any major threat.
It kinda worries me that the engineers have no idea why it was swaying so much. You'd think that they would have taken all the risks and concerns into account when they installed it, and also that they would have designed its installation to resist even the strongest winds. If this thing can't withstand a not-so-windy day, how would it fair in a storm? I'm interested to hear their explanation.
If the engineers are waitig this long to come inspect the situation, then there is little to no risk of it falling. If there was any risk, someone would have been out here within 24hrs conducting tests and inspections. I don't really mid the statue and I don't really want to see such a piece removed.
I also was a witness to the crazy swaying of the sculpture last week on a not-so-windy day. When I had to venture across the Cut to the UC I definitely kept clear of the thing. Wow. To those who say that they should have considered the wind when they installed the piece, I say "duh." Of course they considered wind and weather with a piece like this! And apparently it has worked effectively for the past several years because the unusual swaying the other day appears to have been a major event. I agree with Serrano that the cables look more like a mental safety, and frankly, they're doing the trick. Better safe than sorry. As to whether it stays or goes--I could care less, although that spot on the cut would look awfully bare without that crazy sculpture.
what this article fails to mention is how long the support will be there on the structure? for, it does not seem that the issue will just go away. wind isn't going anywhere. so, i am wondering if we are going to be looking at those support cables forever more? is that part of the art?
Seeing the "art" shake with that degree wasn't very terrifying for anyone who had seen it before, but I think it will be interesting to see the underground structure that is actually supporting it. Is anyone else tempted to tighten up the turn-buckles and put a little extra strain in the statue?
"next week the grass and dirt from around the base of the pole will be removed"
That is going to be a hot mess. I suppose its better to be sure. I wouldn't be surprised if there's something wrong with the support structure.
"next week the grass and dirt from around the base of the pole will be removed"
That is going to be a hot mess. I suppose its better to be sure. I wouldn't be surprised if there's something wrong with the support structure.
I'm slightly concerned about the structure of the statue but more concerned with this temporary fix that they have installed. While I am by no means an expert on rigging, nor do I pretend to know what I am doing, It appears to me that there are some serious flaws with the design. Namely Crosby's being saddled the wrong way and what appears to be unrated connections. While this is certainly not a typical installation, it looks like more care could have been taken. I will be interested to see how this is repaired and what the structural issues actually were.
It is good to see that they are taking preventative measures rather then just assuming that the sculpture is safe. Wether the safety precautions are mental or actual at least they will keep people at a safe distance until the state of the sculpture is clarified.
We need to mount a camera to capture the event on film. We could sell it as a showcase fundraiser.
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