Last Autumn, Liverpool was visited by a giant spider dubbed La Princesse. It was a project sponsored by the city and designed by La Machine. Photos of it have started appearing in greater numbers around the Internet and Caroline D posted on boston.com, “It’s supposed to be coming to Antwerp, Belgium this summer. If you want to follow up, check http://www.zva.be (later this year though...)”
This may actually be true. A similar previous project, the Sultan’s Elephant, went from Nantes and Amiens, France in the summer of 2005 to London, England in late summer 2006 to Antwerp, Belgium in the mid-season. Events for the 2009 Summer of Antwerp event are not yet published, but it would seem a natural destination for the steampunk arachnid.
It is scheduled to visit Yokohama, Japan from April 16-19, 2009 and dates are pending for the cities of Calais and Madrid.
Photographs by Pete Carr via boston.com.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Giant Steampunk Art Installations
- Opportunities for artists and companies to create large-scale, interactive art pieces with a steampunk aesthetic.
- Global Interactive Tourism
- Businesses in various cities can attract tourists by hosting La Princesse and similar interactive art installations.
- Robotics and AI in Art
- As technology advances, there may be more opportunities to incorporate robotics and AI into large-scale artworks.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Art
- Artists and companies can create, design, and produce large-scale interactive art installations with a steampunk aesthetic that attract public interest and tourism.
- Tourism and Hospitality
- Cities can use interactive art installations like La Princesse to promote tourism and stoke public interest in their urban centers.
- Technology
- As robotics and AI become more advanced, these technologies have potential to be incorporated into the design and production of large-scale art installations.
