Just as Columbus has done with its architectural gems, it’s now doing with an important sculpture.
Columbus is renowned for its design heritage because of its more than 65 examples of Modern architecture. Among them are designs by a who’s who of architects: Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Kevin Roche, I.M Pei and Harry Weese.
The city has been committed to ensuring that its architectural gems are well preserved, and with Landmark Columbus — an organization whose focus is such preservation — spearheading efforts, maintenance issues have been identified for remedies.
Thankfully, such care is being taken with one of one of the city’s most famous sculptures: Chaos I.
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Chaos I is a 7-tone, 30-foot tall kinetic sculpture created by the late-Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, which was installed in the old Commons in 1974. It was the only artwork of the original facility that was reinstalled when the new Commons opened in 2011.
Age has taken a bit of a toll on the sculpture, and now some Cummins engineers — thankfully, and to great appreciation — have volunteered to examine Chaos I to check some problems and see what can be done to ensure its longevity, so residents and visitors can enjoy it for many more years. Only five of six balls currently move through its passageways, and the stress of this action on the structure is a concern. The integrity of the welds and rusting of the sculpture are being examined, too.
Parents teach their children to take care of what is valuable and special to them. It appears this message has resonated in the community.
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