Panorama 2000
September 4, 1999

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Hey Rudy,

Living there in Washington DC, I know you think you've got a lock on the big art genre -- the Washington Monument, Iwo Jima Memorial, even the White House. But maybe you ought to check out Utrecht -- it's about 20 miles from Amsterdam.

Now, this town believes in ambitious art: they're turning the whole city skyline into an exhibit.

The city's Centraal Museum has named the exhibit Panorama 2000. Here's the premise: 20 pieces of art get scattered around the city, all to be viewed from the Cathedral Tower of Utrecht, aka Dom Tower (as in Dom-inate the art world?). There'll be artwork atop houses, parking garages and churches among other places.

Here are a couple examples: one artist created a giant ferris wheel to lift four cars at a time (along with their passengers) 100 feet up to view the city; another artist has scattered 99 flourescent stadium seats around town; there's a building with a glass roof so you can watch the inhabitants 24/7 and another artist has made a giant sparrow sculpture about 20 feet tall that he perched on a building near the Dom Tower.

Now despite the fact that the exhibit is billed as a way to ring in the new millenium, it only lasts through October 3, 1999.

So if you want to get a heaping serving of art, head to Utrecht.