Ode to Santos Dumont~~

Today I went to see  the last work of American artist Chris Burden, who died in May of this year shortly before this exhibit opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. “The performing sculpture, Ode to Santos Dumont, pays homage to ingenuity, optimism, and the persistence of experimentation, failure, and innovation. Inspired by Brazilian-born pioneer aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, widely considered the father of aviation in France and Brazil, the kinetic airship sculpture was recently completed after a decade of research and work by Burden.” The work is powered by a quarter-scale version of a 1903 De Dion gasoline motor handcrafted by machinist and inventor John Biggs.” Biggs appears in my photos and is responsible for the performance part of the exhibit, which happens every two hours. As a Brazilian, I had to go see this exhibit before it closes next weekend. I took lots of photos and even made some videos (not quite my forte) that WordPress wouldn’t allow me to upload… So here is my ode to the late Chris Burden and to my compatriot, Alberto Santos Dumont.

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