Unique Art Installation: Traffic Jam Made Of Sand Unveiled In Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Dealing with intense traffic congestion is something all South Floridians are accustomed to, but now there is a different kind of traffic jam, in the sand, and it is here just in time for Miami Art Week.
Argentinian Artist Leandro Erlich unveiled his temporary installation, "Order of Importance" on Miami Beach.
"It deals with our relationship with the environment," explained Erlich at Monday's official opening. "The cars itself is a metaphor, a symbol, of what we are capable in terms of, as a species."
The unique installation features a 21st century traffic jam as 66 life-sized sculptures of cars and trucks lined up in an imaginary standstill with three lanes heading north and three lanes heading south. There is a lot of details including guard rails and a traffic divider.
The sand replicas, frozen in time, symbolize a harsh and rigid modernity that is at odds with natural and porous material from which they are made.
"To bring this, the shape of our industry into the natural order brings this, you know, interesting, you may say surreal, but it's not really surreal. The image of co-existance between what we build and what happened with these ambitions when we bring them into the natural order," said Erlich.
This is the largest work created by Erlich and will be on display now through Dec. 15.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber calls this project monumental and a first for the city.
"Anybody here, anybody, doesn't have to pay a fee, doesn't have to get dressed up, can just come to our beautiful beach and see this amazing art and think of it in their own terms and that's what art is supposed to do," said Mayor Gelber. "So we're very excited to have this exhibit here for the next two weeks."
The sand sculptures will be left to slowly degrade throughout the duration of the 15-day exhibition.
