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The 194th Anniversary of Léon Foucault's Birth: University Students Ride the GVSU "Wrecking Ball"...
Last edited Wed Sep 18, 2013, 11:55 AM - Edit history (1)
Pendulum art piece removed for safety reasons
A recent increase in popularity of riding the pendulum art piece located outside of the Padnos Hall of Science has prompted Facilities Services to remove the piece due to concerns over the safety of students.
Officials in Facilities Services have been considering options of what to do with the piece prior to videos that parodied a Miley Cyrus music video were posted online and created a great deal of buzz on Twitter.
“We are reassessing the safety and structural integrity of the current installation and site,” Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Tim Thimmesch said. “Hopefully the pendulum can be reinstalled at that location or we can find another suitable location on campus so people can enjoy it as a piece of art and stay safe.”
...
The sculpture, called a bifilar pendulum (sic), was created by artist Dale Eldred in 1973.
http://www.gvsu.edu/gvnow/index.htm?articleId=CA9E9F09-CED3-F374-991377A6A145A7BD
A recent increase in popularity of riding the pendulum art piece located outside of the Padnos Hall of Science has prompted Facilities Services to remove the piece due to concerns over the safety of students.
Officials in Facilities Services have been considering options of what to do with the piece prior to videos that parodied a Miley Cyrus music video were posted online and created a great deal of buzz on Twitter.
“We are reassessing the safety and structural integrity of the current installation and site,” Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Tim Thimmesch said. “Hopefully the pendulum can be reinstalled at that location or we can find another suitable location on campus so people can enjoy it as a piece of art and stay safe.”
...
The sculpture, called a bifilar pendulum (sic), was created by artist Dale Eldred in 1973.
http://www.gvsu.edu/gvnow/index.htm?articleId=CA9E9F09-CED3-F374-991377A6A145A7BD
From the "interesting" FOX17 video report, one can read the following information from the installation's plaque:
Dale Eldred
Untitled
Metal Sphere
with Pointer
1973
Gift from Paul A. Johnson
Video: GVSU Takes Down Pendulum Statue After Several Students Ride It
Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/09/17/video-gvsu-takes-down-pendulum-statue-for-safety-reasons/#ixzz2fDhXmfeE
ALLENDALE,Mich. — According to Grand Valley State University officials, The Pendulum Statue was removed by the facilities dept on Tuesday for “safety reasons.”
The decision also comes after several students posted Vine videos parodying the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball music video.
According to Tim Thimmesch, head of facilities at GVSU, “The Pendulum” is a 42-inch steel ball with a spike and a 40- to 50-foot steel cable.
Thimmesch said students have been riding the ball way more than in the past, but would not comment on if it was tied to the Vines or the GVSU Wrecking Ball Twitter account.
...
http://fox17online.com/2013/09/17/video-gvsu-takes-down-pendulum-statue-for-safety-reasons/#axzz2fBhDN7gZ
Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/09/17/video-gvsu-takes-down-pendulum-statue-for-safety-reasons/#ixzz2fDhXmfeE
ALLENDALE,Mich. — According to Grand Valley State University officials, The Pendulum Statue was removed by the facilities dept on Tuesday for “safety reasons.”
The decision also comes after several students posted Vine videos parodying the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball music video.
According to Tim Thimmesch, head of facilities at GVSU, “The Pendulum” is a 42-inch steel ball with a spike and a 40- to 50-foot steel cable.
Thimmesch said students have been riding the ball way more than in the past, but would not comment on if it was tied to the Vines or the GVSU Wrecking Ball Twitter account.
...
http://fox17online.com/2013/09/17/video-gvsu-takes-down-pendulum-statue-for-safety-reasons/#axzz2fBhDN7gZ
There seems to be a high degree of variation in terminology when it comes to describing this pendulum. It is a "Wrecking Ball" to the students, a "bifilar pendulum" or a "pendulum art piece" to the university's public relations department and a "pendulum statue" to FOX17.
One wonders if the intent of Paul A. Johnson's gift was to provide GVSU with a Foucault pendulum.
Additional Information from GVSU:
Artwork: Eldred Sculpture
...
Dimensions: 10 x 30 x15
Physical description: Giant round metal pendulum with a spike on the bottom.
Historical narrative: Dale Eldred was an internationally acclaimed sculptor renowned for large-scale, city-wide sculptures that reveal natural phenomena such as designing a sculpture to break light into smaller wave lengths, which we see as real, radiant color. His "Eldred Sculpture" on the Grand Valley State University Allendale Campus is called a "bifilar pendulum".
Credit: Gift of Paul Johnson
http://gvsuartgallery.org/pawtucket/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3326
...
Dimensions: 10 x 30 x15
Physical description: Giant round metal pendulum with a spike on the bottom.
Historical narrative: Dale Eldred was an internationally acclaimed sculptor renowned for large-scale, city-wide sculptures that reveal natural phenomena such as designing a sculpture to break light into smaller wave lengths, which we see as real, radiant color. His "Eldred Sculpture" on the Grand Valley State University Allendale Campus is called a "bifilar pendulum".
Credit: Gift of Paul Johnson
http://gvsuartgallery.org/pawtucket/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3326
Bifilar Torsion Pendulums and Moments of Inertia in Aircraft
As an aside on bifilar pendulums, here is an interesting paper on determining the moments of inertia of airplanes - it includes the use of a bifilar torsion pendulum:
http://naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/1934/naca-report-467.pdf