February 28, 2012

680,000-pound boulder goes on a 106-mile journey... for art.

It will ride a "294-foot-long centipede-like transporter between 10 and 11 p.m. and travel at the painstakingly slow speed of about 5 mph."
[W]ork crews from about 100 utility districts will have to take down traffic signs, overhead wires and other obstacles to let the rock pass and then reinstall them later.

A signal expert will have to move and rebuild traffic signals that would otherwise be mowed down like blades of grass by the transporter — nearly as wide as three freeway traffic lanes....

During the day, the rock... will have to park in "the middle of the road, the only place big enough"...

The total cost of the project, including the rock, the transportation and construction of the sculpture site, will be up to $10 million, which was raised from private donors....
Of course, the rock is tweeting:


Hey, that reminds me: There's a Green Bay Packer on the new "Dancing With the Stars" — Donald Driver, along with Urkel, Gladys Knight, and Martina Navratilova.

23 comments:

Fr Martin Fox said...

Progress:

Five hundred years ago, an artist took a hunk of stone and discovered Moses within it.

Today, an artist takes a hunk of stone and...

Unknown said...

Who is paying to compensate for the enormous cabon footprints left by the centipede?

ricpic said...

So after all the cost and inconvenience the rock will only be a "levitated rock" if those who walk under it suspend their disbelief (and their lying eyes) and agree to the con that a rock that is resting on a ramp is actually floating in mid-air.

edutcher said...

Oy!

Where I used to work, there was a mayonnaise jar full of rocks clearly broken up from something bigger.

This was supposed to be art.

Sorry.

The Jar O' Rocks, as we called it, was an object of unceasing derision.

bgates said...

I was just thinking the other day that traffic was probably moving too smoothly in Los Angeles, and they ought to think about putting a giant rock on a large road.

KCFleming said...

And a rock feels no pain.

And an island never cries.

Patrick said...

Urkel? I didn't think the President would have the time.

bagoh20 said...

I drive the L.A. roads every day. I think they do this about twice a day.

bagoh20 said...

The only way I would watch that dancing show would be if they got Elvis to do it.

Joe Schmoe said...

I'm kinda being a wiseass but also genuinely interested:

Is Martina gonna dance with a guy or a girl? It seems more, I dunno, fitting, to me, to see her dance with another woman. I can't quite picture her in a sexy dress and high heels.

Toad Trend said...

I remember when rocks were pets...

MadisonMan said...

Donald Driver just joined twitter too. @Donald_Driver80

Rusty said...

Isn't LACMA next door to Rancho LaBrea?
Where are the going to put it?

Rusty said...

Isn't LACMA next door to Rancho LaBrea?
Where are the going to put it?

bagoh20 said...

The route sure is the long way around - about twice as long straight through, but I guess they have their reasons. It looks like they are specifically going around da hood. Maybe they think it would get stolen - which I do think is possible, since as I said in an earlier post: they stole my broken poopy poop scoop. This rock is much nicer, although it too looks possibly broken, but being poop free, it's got to be more at risk.

bagoh20 said...

Yea, it's right next to the La Brea Tar Pits, so they could come in one day and poof - it's gone.

William said...

I'm in favor of locally grown rocks.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Rock on.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Rock of Angeles.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

When it goes through South Central, it will be a rock in a hard place.

Strelnikov said...

Somehow, I feel tat my tax money is paying for this nonsense - as usual.

victoria said...

Private funds raised by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have raised the money to do this. I think it is totally cool. The rock is traveling about 8 miles an hour. The LACMA has a map you can print to follow the "rock".

Philistines


Vicki from Pasadnea

RKearns said...

I wonder what that fund-raising campaign looked like?

"Dear Donor, We want to move a huge rock through LA. Please help."

Donor: Cool. I'm in.