Man Crossing the River

Man Crossing the River (Polish: Przechodzący przez rzekę) or Tightrope (Polish: Linoskoczek) is a sculpture of a naked man holding a pole and two arrows, and balancing on a wire stretched across the Brda River in Bydgoszcz, Kuyavian–Pomeranian, Poland. The sculpture was created by Jerzy Kędziora [pl] and unveiled on 1 May 2004, the day when Poland joined the European Union. It has been designed so that its center of mass is below the wire, which prevents the 50-kilogram statue from flipping.

Man Crossing the River
pl: Przechodzący przez rzekę
View from the Jerzy Sulima-Kamiński Bridge, Old Town, Bydgoszcz
Artist	Jerzy Kędziora [pl]
Year	2004
Medium	resin composites with brass dust
Subject	Young naked man, balancing sculpture over river
Dimensions	220cm  (??)
Weight	50kg
Location	Jerzy Sulima-Kamiński Bridge, Old Town, Bydgoszcz, Kuyavian–Pomeranian, Poland
Coordinates	53°07′23″N 18°00′05″E
Owner	City of Bydgoszcz

Description

The idea to place the sculpture on the Brda River came from Maciej Obremski, Bydgoszcz's vice-president from 2003 to 2005. The sculpture depicts a young man wearing a loincloth, walking on a tightrope stretched across the river. He holds a pole in one hand, an arrow in the other, and carries Roman sandals over his shoulder – the same ones worn by the Bydgoszcz Archer "Łuczniczka". Below the tightrope is a swallow (German: szwalbe, which is the surname of the Honorary Citizen of Bydgoszcz, Andrzej Szwalbe).

The figure is made of resin composites with brass dust. The figure is 2.2 meters tall and weighs 50 kilograms. The pole is 6 meters long, and the rope is over 100 meters long. The figure maintains its vertical position because the center of mass of the figure is located in the center of the rope from which it hangs. The face of "Man Crossing the River" has the features of the artist's son, Bartłomiej.

The sculpture is commonly associated with the Bydgoszcz statue of the "Archeress". The young man represents the admirer of the beautiful "Archeress," carrying an arrow shot by the bronze beauty to the other side of the Brda River.

"Man Crossing the River" is considered one of the most successful examples of modern sculpture in Bydgoszcz, well integrated into the Bydgoszcz Water Junction [pl]. Its location near the Jerzy Sulima-Kamiński [pl] Bridge underscores the value of the structure. Nearby are historic buildings and symbols of Bydgoszcz – the old granaries, the new granaries, and the Main Post Office, Bydgoszcz building.^[1]

Buildings on the Brda River at dusk, with the 2004 Tightrope sculpture.

Gallery

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  On the Brda River
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  Reflection in the river
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  With the Water Tram
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  At night
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  At dusk