Christine Irving and her wild band of collaborators won a people’s choice prize at last year’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche with Flux and Fire and this year they’re fanning the flames even harder. Irving is a leader of Toronto’s Interactive Arts, the amorphous collective behind The Heart Machine, a flame throwing, interactive sculpture built for the 2010 Burning Man festival (above).
The Heart Machine finally debuts for a hometown crowd this Saturday night and promises to be one of the more spectacular works on display. The piece features a 6-foot by 10-foot industrial heart surrounded by four 16-foot “arteries”. Control points allow participants to manipulate the rhythm and size of fireballs that shoot up to 25-feet into the sky.
“There are 20 interaction pods or hand centres just like an iPod,” explains Irving, left. “You have to stroke it or touch it a certain way and you know you’ve done it right when the screen turns a nice, blood red that lets you know you’ve allowed the flow of blood to the artery. There are five points of contact in each line so if you want to get the full piece going you need 20 people to work together.”
Interactivity is central to Irving’s art practice, in fact, when I ask her whether she considers herself a sculptor or a fire artist or a multi-media artist she responds by calling herself “an interactive artist.”
“This is a new category that’s popping up,” she explains. “We’ve seen it a lot at Burning Man where the art is meant to be climbed on and enjoyed, people have a wonderful respect for art. Sometimes you think a piece will get wrecked but it’s amazing how considerate people are, this dynamic just happens.”
Safety is another major concern when you’re talking about a flame-throwing gargantuan at the centre of what will likely be a major crowd. At the heart of The Heart Machine is a $40,000 plumbing system “strong enough to power an entire office building,” according to Irving.
“We built it to be very robust but we had to make some adjustments in order to conform to Ontario’s rules for fire safety.”
Flux And Fire, a People's Choice prize winner at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010
Although she relies enormously on her crew of “makers” and volunteers, it’s Irving’s name on The Heart Machine because it’s her credit card that’s paying the piper. “We always joke that this project was brought to you by Mastercard,” she says.
“On the artistic side, I rounded up some friends to take part – there will be about 25 of us working to make the Nuit Blanche project happen. I liken it to having a one-night stand and accidentally getting pregnant — we’ll be showing off the baby on Saturday night.”
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Official 2011 Toronto Burning Man Decompression
Curious about Burning Man? or been and desperately missing home?
We have the cure for what ails you!
Official 2011 Toronto Burning Man Decompression Party and Art Fundraiser
This event generates funds for the local arts community (such as the Heart Machine featured at Nuit Blance)
Saturday November 12th — 99 Sudbury St.
Workshops starting at 2PM – Main Event at 9PM-4AM – Final admittance 1AM
Expect:
Burning Man Information Centre
Gifting
Greeters
Workshops — Starting at 2 PM.
Art — A minimum of 10% of each ticket sale will go towards this year’s arts grants.
Two Rooms of DJ’s & VJ’s
Live Performances — Random Acts of Spectacle & Weirdness all night. . .
Outdoor Fire Show!
Cash Bar
Tickets:
$20 early bird online until October 21
$25 offline and after
$30 at the door
Online at http://torontoburningmandecompression2011.eventbrite.com/
Also available at:
Center of Gravity/Side Show Cafe
Shanti Baba
Fairies Pyjamas
This is a Leave No Trace event.
If you’d like more information about Burning Man visit http://www.burningman.com/
or for information on the Toronto Burner scene http://burnon.ca/