Spinning Spools

 

I’m not really a fan of public art. Quite often, it’s only art because the artist says it is. It seldom actually improves the scenery, and often begs to be graffitied. But there are exceptions. November 2, 2020, a Dutch metro train broke through the end of an elevated track in the Netherlands. Instead of crashing to the ground thirty feet below, the train was caught and held aloft by a massive sculpture of a whale’s tail. The tail was one of a pair, installed in 2002 near the De Akkers train station in Spijkenisse, just outside of Rotterdam. Officials weren’t really sure what caused the partial derailment. There was damage to the track, the train and the sculpture, but there were no human casualties. As it happened, the driver was the only person aboard at the time of the accident. The best part of the story? The artist named his piece: “Saved by the Whale’s Tail.”