5,000 Arms to Hold You

Artists Doug and Mike Starn transform the landscape of the Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden with a monumental installation of bamboo and rope, towering 16 meters high.

Composed of more than 10,000 bamboo poles, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, invites visitors experience the work from within and without, ascending to its uppermost peaks and participating in cultural programming inspired by and performed within and around it.

On view in its entirety through October 2014, the tower element that comprises the highest point of 5,000 Arms to Hold You will remain as a permanent sculptural installation in the Museum’s Garden.

The ninth work in the Starns’ Big Bambú series, 5,000 Arms to Hold You marks the largest and most complex sculptural installation undertaken by the artists to date. Its architecture builds upon the artists’ ongoing investigation of the interconnectedness of life, which serves as a foundational principal and guiding philosophy for their unique approach to making art.

Doug and Mike Starn, <i>5,000 Arms to Hold You</i>, srael Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Mike + Doug Starn — Doug and Mike Starn, *5,000 Arms to Hold You, The Helix*, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Mike + Doug Starn

“The concept of Big Bambú has nothing to do with bamboo,” said Mike Starn. “Big Bambú represents the invisible architecture of life and living things. It is the random interdependence of moments, trajectories intersecting, and actions becoming interaction, creating growth and change.” “It is philosophic engineering, a demonstration of chaotic interdependence,” added Doug.

Intended to be viewed from the inside looking out, as well as from the outside looking in, Big Bambú encourages visitors to explore their perception of the world around them from different vantage points throughout its interior. Its title refers to the web of bamboo that embraces visitors and is representative of the myriad connections that contribute to all individuals’ continual states of becoming.

Doug and Mike Starn, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Mike + Doug Starn

Doug and Mike Starn, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Elie Posner

Doug and Mike Starn, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Mike + Doug Starn

Doug and Mike Starn, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Mike + Doug Starn

Doug and Mike Starn, 5,000 Arms to Hold You, Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden, Jerusalem. Photo Elie Posner

Doug and Mike Starn
5,000 Arms to Hold You
Israel Museum
Jerusalem, Israel

5,000 Arms to Hold You

Artists Doug and Mike Starn transform the landscape of the Israel Museum’s Billy Rose Art Garden with a monumental installation of bamboo and rope, towering 16 meters high.

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