Metalmorphosis giant head

A stainless steel head that takes itself apart and reassembles is the reason to stop at Whitehall Corporate Center in Charlotte. Metalmorphosis, by Czech sculptor David Černý, was installed in 2007, and Designboom describes it as his first permanent public installation in the United States.

The Whitehall Corporate Center's own site says the work consists of 40 steel pieces grouped into seven segments, each rotating independently through 360 degrees. When the segments align they form a giant head; otherwise they turn as separate plates. Designboom reports that a custom-written program controls motors embedded in the structure, and that Černý controls the layers over the internet. Public Delivery says the commission came from Riprand Count Arco, founder and chairman of American Asset Corporation, for the Whitehall site, and reports that Černý described the piece as a self-portrait of his psyche.