First Night 2022
Iron Pour;
Blossoms on Blossoms
As a celebration of the final day of the 2021 calendar year artist Jesse Blumenthal and his accomplished cohort of Artists will create a cast iron performance, inspired by the historical “fireworks” of thousands of years ago, at Free Cycles in Missoula, Montana. The group of Artists will melt iron in their furnace and then toss ladles full of the molten metal against large wood sculptures. The resulting reaction of iron on wood produces an explosion of firebrands reminiscent of fireworks and blossoming flowers. Performances will take place every 15 minutes for the duration of the early evening with about half a ton of hand recycled and processed iron being cast.
This form of performance is thousands of years old. Chinese and Japanese cultures have used fireworks for celebration for a very long time, but these celebrations were often only accessible to the wealthiest castes of society. As a result, the working class of foundry towns would gather next to a large wooden wall where a foundry worker would transform themselves into performer, and their utilitarian/industrial work into expressive Art. Jesse and crew will draw on this history as inspiration for “Blossoms on Blossoms” by throwing metal in the traditional manner using a large, wet, wooden spoon. The walls the metal will be thrown against will be flattened silhouettes of lotus flowers. Three walls of varying scale will be stacked in a progressive height arrangement. The reactions of the performance will serve to illuminate and animate the stacked walls; causing the petals to leap out into space!