METALmorphosis, Fountain in Charlotte, US.
METALmorphosis is a stainless steel fountain at the Whitehall Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, made up of 40 motorized plates arranged in seven segments that together form a giant human head. Each segment rotates independently of the others, so the shape of the head constantly shifts and sometimes breaks apart entirely.
METALmorphosis was created by Czech artist David Černý and inaugurated in 2007 at the Whitehall Corporate Center in Charlotte. The 13-ton, 7-metre sculpture was commissioned for the site. Černý later made the larger Head of Franz Kafka in Prague, a 45-ton steel bust.
The sculpture stands in a corporate complex but draws visitors from across the city who come to watch the plates turn slowly. The movement feels almost hypnotic, and many people simply stop and stare, unsure of when the plates will align.
The fountain is on Arco Corporate Drive and is freely open to the public at any time. It is worth spending a few minutes watching the plates rotate, since the full effect only becomes clear after a while.
The sculpture could originally spout water from the head's mouth, but that feature no longer works. Its creator, David Černý, later made a larger steel work, the 45-ton Head of Franz Kafka, in Prague.
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