The
Crucible’s 7th Annual Fire Arts
Festival set
West Oakland ablaze and transformed the
vacant lot at Kirkham St. and 7th St.
into a Fire Arts Arena with a four-day
run in July 2007.
Designed & produced
by The Crucible's Founder and Executive Director,
Michael
Sturtz, the annual celebration of fire
and light that featured an amazing cast of
dancers and performers reflecting the diversity
of the Bay Area’s arts community -- from
classically trained ballet dancers to hip-hop
artists, musicians, outrageous fire artists
and performers, and The Crucible’s own
faculty of blacksmiths, metal casters, and
glassworkers.
The festival showcased
kinetic and fire art pieces, with over 30 installation
artists contributing to the event’s success. Many
of the kinetic fire sculptures, like the 168-foot
long Serpent Mother, created
by the arts collective, The
Flaming Lotus Girls,
encouraged hands-on participation like controlling
propane jets. Another interactive display,
Dance
Dance Immolation, by Interpretive
Arson,
challenged participants to match on-screen
dance steps – with
the penalty for a misstep being a blast of
fire to the face (fortunately dancers are suited
up in Nomex firefighter suits prior to testing
their skills).
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IT, by Michael Christian,
stands watch over the Fire Arts Arena.
Photo by TheBlight.net
The
Serpent Mother by
Flaming Lotus Girls.
Photo by Lane Hartwell |
Serchmaa
Byamba, Contortionist.
Photo by Lane Hartwell |
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