Chilly night warmed by hot art
September 26, 2011 – 10:00 p.m.
It was cool on Saturday night but the chill was eliminated by the fiery art show, Fahrenheit. Over 2,000 fans (many of them children) set up chairs in a lot across from the Vollmer Centre and waited for darkness to fall.
A member of the safety crew watches as puppeteer Matt Romain (back) makes his burning creation dance.
While they waited, children lined up for face painting and watched displays from fire eaters and other entertainers. A DJ provided tunes, followed by live music from Lonesome Lefty to set the stage for the main event. When darkness fell the stage was silenced and a hush fell over the crowd as they waited for the first spark.
One by one, the larger than life statues were torched. Each was made from natural materials like wood, straw and string, which made it even more exciting…How long will it burn? What will be revealed? Is it moving by itself or from the help of the artist?
Watching the fire is part of the entertainment, but watching the artists manipulate the pieces and seeing the kinetic movements of the sculpture is a different kind of experience, and one that changes each time you experience it. A bulk of fire shot up into an arrow, a square bale of hay burned into a spiral and a menacing shark revealed fish bones beneath.
Lex D’ascenzo dances with fire fans at Fahrenheit. D'ascenzo has been practicing fire performance for 12 years.
Artist Matt Romain was back for his third Fahrenheit entry and said that he will participate next year for sure. He was pleased with the large turnout and likes the reaction from the audience. Fire art doesn’t always go as planned though. “Well you never know if it’s going to work until you light it up,” he said. Romain’s dancing puppet – a crowd favourite – started off with a “few good dance steps” but when the fire really set in the legs were frozen in place and it became a waving man as Romain tugged at the puppetmaster strings.
Everyone seems to remember Romain’s works. For the first year he made a giant eye and with a smaller crowd, he was able to stand in front of the burning piece and sing Smoke Gets in Your Eye. Year two’s entry can be found in photos and videos that remember the big event when his peacock entry set the stage for kinetic sculptures with a tail that fanned out as it burned. This year’s puppet will surely be referenced as one of the greats for this year too.
Fahrenheit Festival of Fire Sculpture will return in 2012 with bigger and better works from area artists. Be sure to stay in touch with Artcite for updates on this and other great events.
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