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| The Stravinsky Fountain, Niki de Saint Phalle 1983. Paris, France |
This bright-colored,
whimsical creature by Niki de Saint Phalle is a focal point of the Stravinsky
Fountain located in the public square near Pompidou Art Centre. The fantasy
figure represents a firebird from Russian folklore. The fountain includes sixteen kinetic
sculptures that Niki created in collaboration with her husband, Jean Tinguely.
In
the Firebird fairytale, Prince Ivan is a key character who
searches for the elusive firebird at the request of his father. During his adventurous quest, Ivan fell in love
with a beautiful princess. After Ivan completed several tasks to capture the
firebird, he lived happily ever after with the princess.
In 1910, the fairytale was adapted to a ballet sponsored
by Russian-born Sergei Diaghilev, who directed the productions of the Ballet
Russes in Paris. He commissioned musical
composer Igor Stravinsky to create an orchestral suite to coincide with the ballet
performance. So in essence, the
fairytale captivated audiences through the creative collaboration of music,
dance, theater and the visual arts. The
French title for the Firebird is L’Oiseau de Feu.
Another
version of the Firebird by Niki de
Saint Phalle, is located outside of
the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. She created an extensive body of public
sculpture that can be seen in several European countries, the United States,
and Israel. An exhibition about
Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes is featured this summer from May 12 to
September 2 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
References:
Stravinsky
Fountain. 2007-2012. Niki Charitable Art Foundation.
http://nikidesaintphalle.org/public/france/paris/stravinsky (accessed April 3, 2013).
Igor
Stravinsky. 2013. Carnegie Hall Corporation.
(accessed April 3, 2013).
Diaghilev
and the Ballets Russes. 2013. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/diaghilevinfo.shtm
(accessed April 13, 2013).
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