Rio Olympic Cauldron = Poetry In Motion

I'm still learning about the new Rio Olympic Cauldron, which is on par with London's very original and creative design unveiled for years ago.

Local TV showed the designer's name and the public display of the cauldron now at Rio Olympic Boulevard, the astounding waterfront live site for the Games, but I was not yet able to capture the name to post here.

Wondering if the British design studio for 2012 (reported here) played a role for 2016 as well.

What I love most about the 2016 cauldron design is the first-ever mobile elements that, when leveraged theatrically last night, inspired a light show similar to the Lasershow Spectacular in Mountainvision at client Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta.

As the opening ceremony crowds poured out of Maracana stadium on Friday evening, I spotted an open gate from section 124 to the floor of the stadium.

So just like that Brazilian supermodel who crossed the stadium during "The Girl From Ipanema" segment, my friend Joanne and I transversed Maracana unfettered by security.

In fact, most of the security and volunteers were enjoying some exclusive "selfie time" with the Olympic flame (one joyous police officer even snapped a photo for me!).

Check out this video of the Rio Olympic Cauldron in motion and please share it with those you think may enjoy:

Photos and video by and copyright Nicholas Wolaver may not be reused without permission. 

Olympic Dasher at the Nasher

On an autumn 2014 trek to Dallas for a family wedding, I made time to swing by the Nasher Sculpture Center, a favorite art destination in The Lone Star State.

Discovering a major London 2012 Olympic "visitor" there was a nice surprise.

For those in DFW who want to see something cool, of five-ringed relevance, and beyond the Nasher's outstanding permanent collection, a few days remain to catch the intimate but impactful exhibition "Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio" on view through Jan. 4 (sorry this post is so late for Big D friends; folks in or visiting L.A. and NYC also may experience this exhibition soon at the Hammer Museum and Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, respectively).

The installation of several dozen Heatherwick items -- from a modernized double-decker bus to whirling dervish chairs and models for ultramodern architectural feats -- is well worth a special trip to the Nasher (and later to the Hammer and Cooper-Hewitt).

Olympic fans may not recall Heatherwick by name, but they likely remember the innovative cauldron the firm created for the most recent summer Games. With more than 200 hammered pieces resembling bronzed peace lilies (one created for each National Olympic Committee marching in the Opening Ceremony), the ignited "floral" arrangement blossomed into a temporary cauldron for the duration of the Games before each "lily" joined its NOC on the team's return home.

In a word: Brilliant!

I was lucky to experience the cauldron up close, and also to visit the first stop of this traveling exhibition when it debuted in London during the XXXth Olympiad two-and-a-half years ago, and the Nasher scores big with their showcase of the Heatherwick items.

When viewing this collection in the U.K., the objects seemed cramped and uncomfortably deep within the museum (sadly I cannot recall which). By contrast, the Nasher presentation is airy and light, giving visitors room to breathe in the designs lauded as creations by the "Leonardo da Vinci of our times," Thomas Heatherwick.

Pleasant surprises include:

• Background and sample components from the British "Seed Cathedral" created for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Simply breathtaking.
  
• Models and photographs of the Rolling Bridge, which takes on an escargot-inspired shape when deployed and retracted near Paddington Station.
• Examples of a "cracked earth" desert design making it possible to place retail and green park space slightly underground -- in valuable man made shade -- in some of the world's hottest arid destinations.
• Dreamy renderings of futuristic creations including a "learning hub" in Singapore and a Thames-spanning "garden bridge"
• Samples of amazing artwork and displays created for retail clients, and an amazing boat design I predict may appear in future James Bond films with an aquatic-based villain.

Visitors may also get into Heatherwick designs at the museum entry and in the sculpture garden. At the front desk, guests hand-crank their own exhibition "program" from a contraption reminiscent of a miniaturized newspaper or magazine press. Outdoors, be sure to take a whirl on one of the many "spun chairs" that delighted children and the young at heart from ages seven to 75 on the day of my visit (the spinning is smooth and akin to riding a playground swing).

I respect Heatherwick for their approach to client and asthetic needs and personally can hardly wait for a future Olympic host city to engage the firm for venue designs.

If anyone from the LA2024 Olympic bid team is reading this, take note and check out this show when it moves next to the City of Angels.

Here's hoping visitors to the Nasher and other exhibition destinations may find inspiration from what's presented.

Most photos by Nicholas Wolaver; images of Seed Cathedral via this blog and this site.

 

Lon-Done! -- 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony Critique

Writing about London's Olympic Closing Ceremony is not easy.

In the hours immediately after the August 12 event, I was too tired. Though the 2012 adventure never did quite push me to hit the Olympic wall as in Games gone by, going into the final day of the XXXth Olympiad I was still standing, but just barely.

In the days just after the Closing, there was also a lot to tend to ... consolidating Olympic swag to fit my luggage. Sightseeing across London to visit the many sites on hold during the Games. A day trip with friends to Stonehenge. Chasing down gifts and final pin trades for folks at home. My brain just was not ready to write.

Then there was the long flight home, the 24 hours layover in Atlanta before a fun weekend with my girlfriend in Milwaukee, and now 10 days since the big party, there seems to remain endless unpacking (I entered London with two bags and returned with four). Also prepped then attended a new client meeting in Washington, D.C., yesterday.

Timing and mental energy aside, writing about London's final Olympic bow is challenging because I wanted to like the Closing Ceremony. And there are plenty of spectacular moments that will always remain with me. But there could have, and I think should have, been even more.

First, the good stuff.

I love it that the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed John Barry's soundtrack themes from "Dances With Wolves" (a nod to the former British colony, as the film was an all-American epic?) -- they performed Barry works during the event's preamble and again as the Olympic flame flickered out just a few paces from my second row seat behind the Olympic and U.K. flags.

The music also wowed me with Annie Lennox (finally performing at the Games), Emeli Sande, Pet Shop Boys, Queen, Taio Cruz and George Michael, whose "Freedom" lit up the arena via 640,000 LED audience pixels. I appreciated The Who medley including "Pinball Wizard" (during which a giant pinball prop nearly broke my left arm in the stands).

The best musical surprise: "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, a longtime favourite. Also enjoyed tunes by David Bowie, John Lennon and even the Spice Girls.

But this is where the questions and criticism kick in and my POV on the London Olympic closing ceremony gets negative.

Where was Kate Bush? Where was David Bowie? Nowhere to be seen, only heard (and larger than life Brazil icon Pele was never formally announced, so no one in the stadium knew of his arrival in the Rio 2012 handover as predicted).

If you're going to showcase deceased legends (Lennon, and Freddie Mercury of Queen), then why not also showcase LIVING legends of British rock such as Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and The Rolling Stones?

If you're going to have a reunion performance by the Spice Girls, whadayasay also inviting Genesis or The Police to the party?

Where was Adele? And Coldplay? And Sade? And what happened to Sarah Brightman? Not invited? Not available? We may only wonder. But thank goodness "Stomp!" was available (snicker).

It's kind of like the Atlanta Olympic closing ceremony which lacked obvious Georgia hit makers R.E.M. and the B-52's. But who remembers Olympic closing ceremonies anyway?

I did enjoy the athlete entry in London. The fireworks were amazing, albeit brief compared to Beijing. Loved the stadium-sized "canvas" by Damien Hirst, from one of his spin paintings. And "Read All About It" performed by Sande is now on my hit list. Cheers for Russell Brand cast as Willy Wonka (a nickname Brand earned months ago) singing "Pure Imagination." LOL for Eric Idle singing "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."

But then, here we go again with moments to hate. A human cannonball. Really? A giant octopus as Fatboy Slim's stage? WTF!?! Supermodels = Approved! Supermodels on trucks and lost in a sea of thousands of athletes = Denied!

No other Monty Python performers? Boooooo!

End of a wonderful XXXth Olympiad ... boooooo. But it was a brilliant Olympics worthy of "best ever" status if such nomenclature still existed in the Olympic family. I think over time the London Olympic closing ceremony will settle better in my memory than in this critique. Until then I'll think of some of the music and also play some Genesis tunes while unpacking.

Photos and videos by Nicholas Wolaver

Looking Forward To Seeing Betty

It's Day 16, and the Games are winding down. The last couple of days included a visit to the Olympic Village, interaction with Olympic gold medalists from the track, football pitch and swimming pool, and more pin trading than should be legal for any one person.

This morning included time for reflection on the London Olympic experience. I took at taxi to Parliament Square (where this Games officially began for me personally) for a morning meeting at the London Media Centre, then I spent an hour at church learning about the Unitarian Universalist congregation of London founded in the 1780s.

Oh, and picked up a Closing Ceremony ticket.

I look forward to the return to Olympic Stadium and seeing the cauldron in its end-of-field location.

The London Olympic cauldron designers and ceremony team nicknamed the mega-torch "Betty" as a codeword to keep its design, construction and installation a secret, so it will be fun to revisit "Betty" before the flame is extinguished.

The changeover ceremony for Rio 2016 is also highly anticipated -- I hope there are some fun surprises. My money is on a Pele cameo. I hope also to get another shot at photographing Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) like at synchronized swimming.

As my fingers type this post, for its money from Team Spain in the Olympic basketball. Go USA!

There are tons of photos and heaps of videos to upload and share, which should be good fodder for more post-Games updates to this Olympic blog. I appreciate everyone reading and sending nice notes of support via Facebook during the last 16 days, and look forward to sharing more of the London Olympic story, a look at Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 and more photos very soon.

Photo via The Guardian and Getty