I stumbled upon a very cool art project today at http://www.adamkuby.com/Acupuncture.html. The artist collaborated with traditional Chinese medicine students to install huge 23 foot tall needles at various places in Portland, Oregon to help heal or restore balance to some of the city's ills. Many locations were simply photographs with a needle edited in, but an actual needle was installed at the south waterfront area. From adamkuby.com:
Think of the city as a body the way traditional Chinese medicine does-- not only as a physical entity but also as a system of energy that flows in distinct pathways called meridians. The energy, or Qi, needs to be in balance. If a person's Qi is out of balance, disease can set in. The same could be true for a city. This project explores the junction between art, regional planning, the environment, asian medicine and the health of a city. In March 2008 I was the “Artist-in-Residence” in Portland’s new South Waterfront neighborhood at the base of the aerial tram, where I brainstormed and work-shopped this idea with help from acupuncturists, acupuncture students, city planners, ecologists, artists, writers, public art professionals and the general public. Together we envisioned Portland as a metaphorical body, explored how energy flows through the city and debated which parts of the city would correspond to the different acupuncture organs and meridian systems.
Read more at adamkuby.com.