At the end of Romare Bearden’s ‘Bayou Fever,’ a 1979 ballet storyboarded by the artist but never performed, all problems are resolved and ‘The Emperor of the Golden Trumpet’ plays for the characters as they travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. One of twenty-one panels, this artwork demonstrates Bearden’s wonderful storytelling capacity and facility with collage. (At DC Moore Gallery through April 29th).
Twice a day, a New Museum employee starts up and moves a motorcycle to maximum speed, its rear wheel causing a huge, cast-iron flywheel to spin for over two hours after the performance ends. Chris Burden’s contraption – The Big Wheel from 1979 – contrasts the freedom of an individual on a bike with an industrially sized wheel, visibly demonstrating both labor and energy harnessed. (On the Lower East Side through Jan 12th).
Chris Burden, The Big Wheel, three-ton, eight-foot diameter, cast-iron flywheel powered by a 1968 Benelli 250cc motorcycle, 1979.
