Lo! ‘Tis a glorious star, rising in the … hmm, for those of us who are directionally challenged, let’s just play it safe and say it rises in the Skatepark.
Recent visitors to the Atlanta Beltline's Eastside Trail may have noticed something even more flashy than the usual scene of boarders kickflippin' and catching air in the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark. They're literally seeing stars; well, actually, one gigantic one, rising 24-feet-tall at the trailside edge of the park. The piece, "A 24/7 Timestar Lives," by Charlie Smith, is just one of over 100 visual and performance pieces being installed along the Eastside Trail as part of "Art on the Atlanta Beltline." The popular annual event kicks off its fifth year on Saturday with the Beltline Lantern Parade.
Smith created the star for the incredibly hip Burning Man festival in 2012; it had never been seen anywhere else before arriving here for the two-month-long public art event. Early indications are that its hipster cred has hardly been diminished by its new setting against a backdrop of skateboarders and the Atlanta skyline. Photos of the star are already popping up all over social media. And, if casual observation over the past week or so is any indication, it's starting to rival those giant CNN letters downtown as the place to take one's photo in front of.
So go ahead, snap a star selfie (a starfie?). But remember, the art is the star here, so take care not to touch or climb onto the piece while doing so.
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