Night Fire
Night Fire
Friday May 9, 8 p.m.
In collaboration with Albany Center Gallery, Mayor Jerry Jennings and the City of Albany Present, “Night Fire”, a unique art installation of environmental elements to
commemorate Albany Tulip Festival’s 60th Anniversary.
“Night Fire” is the City of Albany’s latest contemporary project that embarks on an unprecedented uniting of the arts, education and community to present a truly innovative and unique Fire-Art installation project that was inspired by two nationally acclaimed events: Nevada’s Burning Man, and Providence’s Water-Fire. Albany Center Gallery provided curatorial assistance and helped shape the content and visual aesthetics of the exhibit making this new yearly exhibit not only meaningful to Albany, but unique and a must-see.
At sunset on the opening eve of Tulip Festival 2008, “Night Fire” will bloom in Washington Park for an amazing two-hour experience. A locally designed steel sculpture of a Tulip is currently being created by artist Steven Rolf Kroeger and will be “cocooned” within an eco-friendly burnable structure created by artist Torrance Fish. The sculptures will be set afloat onto Washington Park Lake and ignited, slowly unveiling the 15-foot Tulip underneath. The main piece will be positioned in front of the Lake house, along with 6 unique lily pad sculptures, painted by artist Leigh Wen. Each will host its own small flame, creating a visual trail from the Lake House to the landmark foot bridge. All of this will be set to a live string quartet, performing an original composition by Denise Anderson, a composer originally from Albany who received her MA in music composition at NYU.
In celebration of Albany’s renewed sustainable and socially responsible initiatives, all products used to create the sculptures and fire-art are recyclable and/or environmentally safe. They will have no impact on our environment either today or tomorrow. This project will be mentored by an engineer from Zeller International, a group of specialists in Non-toxic Environmental Chemistry. Dr. Gary Zeller, winner of the Academy Award for Scientific Achievement, has agreed to enhance our project with his knowledge of industrial safety standards in pyrotechnics and sustainable development.
This collaboration is a result of local artists, students and businesses working together to enhance an appreciation of the arts, and to contribute to this capital city’s artistic growth. “Night Fire” will become the mark of a new tradition for Albany’s Tulip Festival and continue to be a community inspired art project for years to come.