A spinning red metallic heart made into a Cupids Arrow on a 16-foot weathervane captures the wind and points in the direction of love. This wildly romantic artwork called “Let LOVE Guide Your Way” is a highlight of the Kinetic Art Exhibit in Boynton Beach, but also a complicated piece that merges engineering and science.
As an artist, Lloyd Goradesky thinks big, not just in scale – as in his football-field-sized Gator in the Bay work – but also in how he documents and presents his work with photos, books, and in tabletop-sized editions as with the heart weathervane.
His Hollywood home studio is jammed with his artwork, it lines up against the walls in the living room, fills a guest room, and decorates his spacious waterfall pool. He has stacks of boxed “Let LOVE Guide Your Way” in his office, already for sale on his website.
When he was asked to contribute to the Kinetic show he was initially given a drawing of hearts that stood up in a pattern on thin rods. It wasn’t all that visually interesting so Goradesky came up with a better idea.
So how come a weathervane?
“A weathervane is a device used to measure wind direction. A weathervane is also a metaphoric expression to describe people who change their views frequently. In a chaotic world, when faced with a dilemma, let love guide your way!” he says.
The art piece is free-standing at 16-foot tall and features a 15.5-foot rotating-circumference kinetic wind vane or Cupid’s Arrow. The weathervane freely rotates on three precision-quality stainless steel rotating bearing gears. The metallic red paint on aluminum gives the work a deeper glint. The front end of the Cupid’s Arrow is a 36-inch cut-out heart-shape. The opposite side of the Cupid’s Arrow is a 4- inch solid heart-shape that captures the wind. The large heart-shapes are attached together with an 11-foot steel beam. The stanchion’s heart-shaped top plate and heart-shaped base plate are supported using four 10-feet curved steel plates each with 6 heart-shaped cut-outs. The cut-outs allow for heart-shaped reflections during daylight allowing the piece to look different upon every viewing. Using ‘scrap’ from the cut-outs, there are 9 random hearts attached to the stanchion. For additional support, half-inch steel rods create an ‘X’ on each side that represents the loving ‘kiss’. The heart-shape points of the top plate and base plate point due North to measure wind direction.
” … it truly is a beautiful, unique piece with a tremendously important message.” Says Trip Barrett, Director of Tourism.
According to Goradesky “Let LOVE guide your way” is the universal color of LOVE, bright red. The art is covered with gold speckles which reflect in sunlight and then coated with a clear UV protectant that maintains the bright red color and protects the surface from all elements. The art illuminates an ambience of Love using LED lighting that enhances the heart-shapes on the Cupid’s Arrow. The stanchion and the Cupid’s Arrow are assembled and moved in two pieces. The piece is created with recycled structural steel. The total weight of the piece is 1850 pounds.”
“There is interpretation with every aspect of the Art,” he continues. “The weathervane has two main components: the base and the arrow. The base represents a singular human form which represents the ‘Act of Kindness’ in the singular art message: to be Kind, Compassionate & Tolerant for each other. The message to be Kind is an individual thought.
If the human condition is not mindful of Kindness, it will not be Kind. To be Kind is a conscious thought. There are 4 stations on the base which point North, East, South, and West which represent our world. The top and bottom heart-shapes point North to give the functioning weathervane a point of reference. There are heart-shaped cut-outs in groups of three which represent family. The number 3 has the meaning of Family & LOVE. Multiples of the number 3 have meaning in all cultures & religions. There are 24 total heart-shaped cut-outs that represent our World. The arrow is ‘Cupid’s Arrow’ which represents Universal LOVE. Although Cupid is known to be a prankster, this is a ‘golden arrow’ meaning LOVE in mythological stories. The large oversized arrow with hearts on either end encourages the viewer to think of Kindness & LOVE.”
As a public artist, Lloyd Goradesky’s projects have received wide media coverage. The Gator in the Bay – a multi-media work made of floating tiles, photo-screened gator feet, and a head with moveable jaws – was featured in over 30 foreign newspapers.
A rare occurrence in the sky led to a series of photos of rainbow clouds that he turned into collectible prints and a book.
While Goradesky’s work is extremely diverse, the purpose is always to raise awareness while showing the beauty of our natural surroundings.
“Let Love Guide Your Way” will be on display at the 2021 5th Biennial Kinetic Art Exhibit presented by the City of Boynton Beach Art in Public Places on Saturday, March 6th – Sunday, March 7th, 2021, and beyond in #DowntownBoynton.
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Lloyd Goradesky’s nature-inspired art
