In the sky over Utsunomiya, a city just over 60 miles north of Tokyo, there floats what looks like the head of a gigantic middle-aged man, a phenomenon that's caused quite a stir among the locals. At nearly 50 feet long and 23 feet wide, it first appeared over the dry Kinugawa riverbed on the afternoon of December the 14. It is scheduled to make another appearance on December 20, this time right in the heart of the city of Utsunomiya, over Nishiki Elementary School.
This floating head project was created by the Utsunomiya Museum of Art as a way for people to enjoy works of art and design outside of a gallery setting, and also as a way of fostering communication and exchange. The “Middle-Aged-Guy in the Sky Day” project was proposed last year by a modern art team called “Me” (meaning “eye” or “eyes”).
Images of the faces of 218 men were collected on Union Street in the middle of Tokyo. From among those faces, one was chosen that was generally accepted to be the most “middle-aged-man-like,” and that face was drawn onto a balloon in three dimensions, incorporating thousands of tiny dots to create the pointillistic portrait. Then, another balloon filled with helium gas was inserted inside, and the huge face was able to take flight.
This content was provided by Asahi Shimbun Digital, published on The Huffington Post Japan, and was translated into English.