Page 60 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 4 #3
P. 60
esting. or on a digital sensor and disk as a camera can, it
We parked near South Tryon Street and started is no less a “camera.” The Firebird is unique in
exploring. Indeed, there were some interesting that it is a 360-degree, 24/7 camera that captures
shots with reflections. (See photos 1 and 2.) and reflects the light from everything around it.
Then, at the corner of Levine and South Tryon, We also reflect light, like every object; but we
in front of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, are not mirrors, unless you think of our eyes as
I encountered “The Firebird,” or Le Grand Oi- mirrors. Paulo Coelho said, “The eyes are the mir-
seau de Feu sur l’Arche, (Bird of Fire on an Arch), ror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to
a sculpture the Franco-American artist Niki de be hidden; and like a mirror, they also reflect the
Saint Phalle completed in 1991. The Firebird is 17 person looking into them.”
feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 1,433 pounds. It is I wear a necklace with a pendant that has a Celt-
composed of an estimated 7,500 mirror mosaic ic Weave pattern. The Celtic Weave is a pattern
tiles over a polyester on steel armature. of interlocking shapes or symbols that has no be-
Well, what can I say? I was mesmerized. I ginning and no end and represents the intercon-
could not get enough of the sculpture. I took shots nectedness of all things. The Firebird, then, is a
from all angles. (See photo on pages 46-47 and 4 sort of Celtic Weave in that it connects everything
and 5 on the following pages) around it. People, earth, sky, buildings, cars – we
are all connected.
Later in the evening, I took some nighttime
shots of the downtown area. See 6-9. Moreover, the Firebird is a reminder that every
single moment, no matter how you define the
The next day, after I returned home, I was so ex- “length” of a moment, is unique. There has nev-
cited about the photos that I processed them and er been and never will be another moment exactly
emailed some to my family and several friends, like a particular moment. A photograph can cap-
telling them how I was so taken by this sculpture. ture and freeze that moment, those reflections.
My daughter, Dana, who always asks good ques- That photograph, then, becomes a reflection – it
tions, emailed me to ask what was it about this allows us to reflect on that moment, to remember
sculpture that so captivated me.
it, to experience it again. With “new” eyes, new
This question caused me to reflect on my expe- mirrors if you will, we can even see that moment
rience. In thinking about how to answer her ques- again for the first time – we can see things we
tion, I realized that, first, I was simply impressed might not have seen at that time.
with the concept of 7.500 mirror mosaic tiles cre- The Firebird reminds us to be in the moment, to
ating a sculpture. Beyond that, as I got close to be present, to be in the now. It reminds us to trea-
the sculpture and took pictures, I realized that the sure each moment.
mirrors, being at different angles, produced al-
most a cubist, Picasso-esque, view of the world. Treasure:
See 10. Each kiss.
Then, it hit me that this statue is really a vid- Each laugh.
eo camera. It captures a 360-degree view of the Each cry.
world around it all the time. Whether it is the
two workers walking by on the way from lunch, Each child.
the shoppers and museum goers, the neighbor- Each friend.
ing buildings, or Wendell Shepherd sending out Each connection.
soft melodies on his horn (See 11), The Firebird Each moment.
reflects everything. Each moment.
Each photograph.
Although it can’t “capture” that moment on film
Each reflection.
60 | Reflections
