Saturday I had the distinct pleasure to witness the unveiling of Nina Hole's Fire Sculpture at Purdue University. Honestly, it was a freaking awesome experience and one I will dwell on for years to come. It was one of those seminal moments in the trajectory of a person's life that alters it forever.
Hole is interested in creating a peak moment, an experience of awe. So just before the sun rises when the dark sky has just a tinge beginning to light the horizon and the piece is at the highest temperature, Hole pulls off the refractory fabric covering. Exposed is a huge glowing form. Everything around is illuminated by the light of it's radiating heat. Faces are painted in an orange radiance. The ancient architecture burns. (from Hole's website: http://www.ninahole.com/fire.html)
When we arrived, about an hour before dark, the structure had been firing for nearly two days. The refractory fabric glowed with heat, flames escaped from the top and shot skyward. People had already begun to gather, there was an atmosphere of celebration.
With every stoke of the firebox, smoke would rise, briefly turning the sky the color of mourning, the sculpture offering its own memories heavenward in a tale as old as time. As darkness descended, anticipation mounted.
Finally, as the sky's inkiness fell to earth, the fire boxes were stoked one final time and we finally discovered with delight what awaited us under the protective cover as the exciting process of peeling away the layers began.
The exposed house peak was sharp and hot against the cool night. The structure glowed from within and became a beacon of light in the darkness, drawing onlookers like moths to the flame as the sculpture rooted and unified us in awe.
And then, the fireworks began. As sawdust and salt met the kiln hot surface of the structure and the fire that still burned within, sparks took to the sky like Santa's reindeer. The child within each of us cried out in unison with "oohs" and "ahs" and the sheer delight that only fireworks seem to elicit.
It is easy to see the allure of Hole's enthusiasm for fire and clay. It is the perfect union of tension and harmony, eliciting strong emotions of fear and excitement in a perfect piece of performance art.
It united a diverse group of people, exposing the caveman in all of us with our love of fire. But Hole was also an expert at turning us to the domestic beast within by choosing to communicate through dwellings and our psychological attachment to them. It unites young and old, rich and poor, across every culture. It gives us something to relate to when all other bonds and communication fail.
One of the paradoxes of clay for me, up until this moment, was the collaborative community aspect. I am a loner by nature, and traditionally do absolutely everything in my power to avoid such moments. Yet it was just that - the collaborative community that Hole worked hardest to create, and what touched me most. It was not until the layers were stripped away, and the fire laid the structure bare, while my emotions were left naked and exposed, that I understood the true art in Hole's work - her ability to unite us across the divide.
The world lost a great artist when Hole passed away in February. It was an honor to witness her final work and I can't wait to see how it changes my own work as I am drawn to collaboration and community in a way I never have before, lit from within and stoked by one woman's enthusiasm for fire and earth.