Ephemeral Art

Photo Link: http://jandan.net/2006/12/13/insanely-cool-and-complex-balloon-art.html

When referring to the word ephemeral, we are talking about something that is not meant to last forever. Some forms of art, in this case the motorcycle balloon, would fit the idea of ephemeral. In creating ephemeral art, people usually do it for the purpose of joy, knowing that after awhile, the design would disappear.

Above is an image of a motorcycle made with the use of balloons. It uses the balloon colors of black, yellow, white, red, orange, and grey to create a real-looking motorcycle. It also exhibits a variety in shape and sizes of the balloons, in which roundish balloons were used to create the wheels, the headlight, etc, while cylindrical balloons were used to give variety to its structure to form the body of the motorcycle. There is a variety of structure going on in this art, coming altogether to form a structural image of a motorcycle, which  must be the world’s lightest motorcycle.

The artist may have enjoyed the process while creating this piece, wanted to achieve some sort of feeling by finishing it, like a sense of accomplishment, or just wanted to make it for fun. But why he/she created this, only the artist will know. Each piece of balloon that makes up the motorcycle could pop anytime, which will then make the motorcycle an incomplete art, until if fully vanishes. But luckily with the invention of cameras, we are able to save and capture images of this short lasting artwork.

Ephemeral art wants us to appreciate the artwork in its present moment. This artist, I assume, used a great amount of time creating this artwork, knowing that it wasn’t going to last forever. Although it’ll disappear after a while, the artist will know that it was once there. Even though it will disappear from the surface, the mental image of it, like memories, will still exist. Any art that is meant to last only a short time is termed ephemeral, and because the design disappears after a while, it encourages people to appreciate it even more at that moment. Every design in society should be appreciated because designs represent the hard work of people, who may have spent a long time to create something that lasts forever, or something that lasts only a short time.