The Rust Sculpture 3/11/03

Despite what would seem to be Museum Official's spin of a potential public relations problem, it would seem these photos clearly show that this sculpture does present a danger. It may not present a level ORANGE type threat, but it's certainly not a level BLUE all's clear type situation either. These photos also seem to contradict Museum Official's claim that Museum personnel clean up the falling rust, as a photo of the biggest rust pile today looks pretty much the same way it looked 2 weeks ago. 

Looking towards the top of the 68 foot rusting work of art, from the inside, past the semi-blocking sawhorses, you can see some large chunks preparing to fall.

At ground level a chunk breaks off easily. Here we see a human hand helping Mother Nature with that year-long achieving-a-patina project.

The pile of rust blown up against the Rust Sculpture on 3/11/03, the sort of fallen rust that the Museum officials claim is cleaned up regularly. Now check out the next photo....

From 2 weeks ago. A zoomed-in view from behind the chain link fence that blocked access at that time. Now, if the Museum Officials claim this is cleaned up regularly, and this level of dust piles up between cleanings, then that would seem to be a tacit admission that this sculpture indeed does present a danger because there are many pounds of fallen rust in this pile.

Now check out the next two photos which clearly show the danger....

Here we see a large chunk of rusted off metal falling off the Rust Sculpture.*

And here we see that same piece of falling metal hitting an innocent sculpture visitor's hand.*

*the last two photos simulate the danger presented
 by the falling rust using a chunk of rust
 that was found laying on the ground
 (prior to its scheduled clean-up,
 which must take place bi-monthly
)

Back to Eyes on Texas