Tour Of Top Five Outdoor Metal Tube Bending Art In America

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by: amabaie
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Word Count: 494
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2011 Time: 3:57 PM

Being able to take advantage of metal tube bending is probably one
of the most important advances of technology so far. Without this ability many of our other advances would not have been possible.

However, having the ability to bend metal tubes and pipes can be used for more than consumer products and technological advancements. Just like many artisans have been doing for hundreds of years, metal bending can also be turned into artwork.

The following five pieces of outdoor art are made with metal bending techniques:

1) Wake
Wake is a 3-ton art installation at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington that consists of 5 separate wave-like steel sculptures that stretch 125 feet through the
park. Wake was created in 2004 by sculptor Richard Serra, who once worked in a steel mill and is known for creating simple forms on a grand scale.

2) The Big Sweep
This colossal broom and dustpan, standing at 31 feet and 4 inches in height, was installed at the Denver Art Museum in June 2002. The Big Sweep is made from bending stainless
steel, aluminum and fiber-reinforced plastic, finished off with a polyurethane enamel. The installation was inspired by the work of local sanitation workers who were sweeping
trash into dustpans as part of a campaign to keep Denver clean.

3) Rattlesnake Bridge
Completed in 2002, Arizona's Rattlesnake Bridge is made to look like a 280-foot long diamondback rattlesnake. At 11 feet tall and 14 feet across this pedestrian bridge
provides access to downtown Tucson from its eastside. Local artist Simon Donovan designed the bridge, and it has received numerous awards from various organizations. On one
side of the bridge pedestrians enter a between the fangs of a huge snake head, with eyes that light up at night, and the other end has a giant rattle sticking straight up in
the air, which contains a motion sensor that triggers a rattling sound.

4) Cloud Gate
Weighing in at 110 tons and standing 66 feet high, the Cloud Gate is a public art sculpture that is located in Chicago's Millenium Park. Visitors are able to enter the park
through the Cloud Gate's 12-foot archway. Designed by British artist Anish Kapoor, and constructed in 2006, the Cloud Gate is comprised of 168 highly polished stainless steel
plates.

5) Big Rig Jig
New York sculptor Mike Ross originally built the Big Rig Jig for the 2007 Burning Man festival. The Big Rig Jig is comprised of two curved 18-wheeler steel tanker trucks and
stands four stories high. Since Burning Man the Big Rig Jig has been featured at a number of different festivals, but it has yet to find a permanent home.

Metal is more than just a
material that is used to created building, bridges and products. In can also be turned into a beautiful piece of artwork that can be enjoyed by all.

About the Author

There's so much more to bending steel pipes than what David Leonhardt and Corey Rozon have shared here, please visit Paramount Roll's bending metal pipe website, and take a look at what they have to offer.

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