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Metropolis II diecast kinetic art installation gets the mini documentary treatment

For us, one of the few nice parts about commercial flight is being able to look out of the window shortly after takeoff and see just how small and genuinely insignificant we all appear from just a few thousand feet in the air.

One glance can swallow the whole of a thousand families and all of their innumerable multitudes of problems. It's the difference between trying to make sense of a photograph by the pixel and stepping back to appreciate the whole. That and the fact that all of the cars and trucks look like Matchbox toys.

You may recall the kinetic sculpture Metropolis II by Chris Burden. The work, which took four years to complete, features 1,500 Hot Wheels diecast cars and a host of electric trains all bustling around a matrix of steel and plastic. If that sounds like a snapshot of your morning commute, you're not alone.

Burden recently sat down with directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman for a quick chat on what's behind Metropolis II and what it means to the artist. Those of you in Southern California may be able to see the exhibit in person at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the fall of 2011. For the rest of us, the mini documentary is well worth checking out and can be seen after the jump.

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