World's biggest sculpture takes pride of place on Belgian highway

Reuters - The world's biggest sculpture, a half arc made from steel, is set to surprise drivers taking a scenic tour in the south of Belgium to France or Luxembourg. Designed by French conceptual artist Bernar Venet and called "L'Arc Majeur," the 60-metre tall sculpture was installed at Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, a small town along the busy 411 highway, on Tuesday (August 13). Venet said he hoped the public's perception of the work would evolve so that its "artistic quality will be more important than the size of the work." The 78-year-old artist, who held his first major exhibition in Paris in 1965 and has lived in New York City since 1997, said he expected different reactions from people driving through it, adding it would depend if they're knowledgeable "about contemporary art or not." Venet had initially wanted to install the sculpture, made from 200 tonnes of steel and set in 2,800 tonnes of concrete, in France but ran into various obstacles and eventually found a home for it in Belgium.