The Curiosity Monument will commemorate the curiosity and innocence lost at young adulthood. This seven foot bunny on wheels will invoke the inner child in every one of us. Warming hearts and bringing the a sense of community where ever he will wonder, Curiosity Monument will get viewers involved with the piece as well as their fellow passerbies!
Curiosity Monument came about when Nova and I where having a discussion on the absurdity of a movable monument. The absurdity is what spurred the idea of the greatness of a large movable monument that could be tracked around the city. Paired with the notion that curiosity takes people to unexpected places, the traceable monument became the method by which I would call audiences to not only explore their inner childhood curiosity but also to act as a community. A rabbit would be the central character for this piece due to the curiosity and innocence that rabbits are normally associated with. The push-able, pull-able rabbit would make its way around the park, it's destination fully up to the passerbies whom will push or pull the monument for any length of time for any distance. It is by chance that a passerby will come upon the rabbit and it is this chance that will invoke curiosity. Once a passerby leaves the rabbit, he or she will wonder where the rabbit will be the next time he or she is in the park. The rabbit will be tracked with a GPS device that will be secured inside the base. This device will allow anyone to check the position of the rabbit online or via smart phone.
Here is a link to a GPS that may be used:
http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/livewire-lightninggps-trackingdevice.html
Here is a conceptual sketch:
As stated, this monument is meant to invoke and commemorate curiosity. The white rabbit, the symbol of curiosity, not only is reminiscent of Alice's white rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" but also of the white rabbits used in children's magic shows. In both cases, the rabbit is meant to create a sense of awe. This is the main purpose of the piece. It's symbolism is meant to capture the audience and transport them to their childhood where the world was big and new.
This seven foot monument will live within Golden Gate Park. It is here that the rabbit will be in its "natural" space. It is here, in the place meant for children and leisure, that the rabbit can be fully appreciated. Children will be drawn to the piece due to its cartoon nature. Adults will be drawn to it due to the monument's size and maneuverability. It is this maneuverability that makes the rabbit's location unpredictable. One day he could be outside the Japanese Tea garden, the next he could be by the dutch windmill. This is possible due to the large piano dolly mounted to the bottom of the rabbits base. This allows movement in any direction. Audiences of children and adults can choose to move this monument by either pushing the rabbit at its behind or by pulling the rope tethered to the base. The greatest, most efficient, way to move the rabbit is to grab another audience member and have one person push while the other pulls, thus creating a sense of teamwork, community and goal accomplishment once the rabbit arrives at the destination desired. Since the rabbit may never be in the same spot twice, finding the monument may become a challenge. However, with the handy GPS device attached to the inside of the base, the rabbit's movement can be tracked via online or by smart phone!
Due to the materials used, the Curiosity Monument is not expensive in the way that most monuments are (although they are awful hard on a student's wallet!!!). The rabbit, in it's entirety, is built from three 8'x4' sheets of plywood, two 2"x4"x8's, two 2"x6"x8's and one large piano dolly. White and black flat matte paints are used to color the piece. Two handles are installed on either side of the base to help with transportation. A long, doubled one inch diameter rope (about 15 feet or so) is used was a pull for the piece. To finish, the rabbit is covered in a flat, water-based, polyurethane varnish and the base is covered in a high gloss, oil-based, polyurethane varnish. The varnishes are meant as a water proof seal. However the oil-based varnish adds an added texture to the base which helps create the look and feel of polished granite. Total costs (including GPS device and subscription) are about $556 plus an extra $40 a month for the GPS tracking. (My out of pocket cost set me back a trip or two to class, costing me about $156 but it was worth it for the feedback of people in the park!)
To build, draw out the rabbit on one of the sheets of plywood. Rabbit should be 4' high and 5' wide. Cut out piece with a jig saw. Next, measure and cut each 2"X6"X8" to 5.5' in length. These two peices will be the sides (length wise) of the base. Nail the newly made 2"x6"x 2.5' (the leftovers from the planks just cut) to the nail them to for the ouside of a rectangular box. Measure and cut the remaining sheets of plywood so that they can be nailed to the rectangular frame. Tadah!!! A box base. Cut the 2"x4"x8" to be 5 foot long. These will create a support for the rabbit to be slid into and then out of for assembling and dissembling purposes. Next paint the base box to look as though it has a granite texture. Paint the rabbit white with a thick, black, cartoony outline. After paint dries, cover the rabbit in the water-based varnish and the base in the high gloss oil-based varnish. Let dry. Attach handles to either side of the base for pulling action. Flip base top down so that the piano dolly can be attached to the underside of the piece. Once attached, flip the base right side up and slip rabbit into the support. Lastly, call up a good friend and beg him for use of his truck so you can get the base to the park!
So the question remains: Being that this piece was actually constructed in reality, how is it in anyway an improbable monument? I believe that this piece counts as an improbable monument on three accounts. 1.) The concept of curiosity and innocence is such a vague and vast concept that no one would commision this piece in the first place. 2.) The notion of movement makes the piece improbable. The weight, even though made from light weight wood, was to great for just one person to move the piece. The piece was also hard to control. If the piece was on a slope, it had a tendency to slid sideways down the slope instead of staying on a straight course. These problems would make the movement aspect of the piece undesirable. No curiosity would spur. No community building would take place. No teamwork would happen. The aspect that makes the piece unique is also the piece's downfall. And 3.) being that the piece is made of wood, the piece is easy to dissemble and destroy thus making it a target for vandalism or material for a homeless persons shelter. The piece would be so easy to steal that no one would be able to leave the piece out of their sight. It would be a costly investment that would be easily destroyed.
To conclude, here are some pictures of the of The Curiosity Monument (aka Cody the Carrot Crusher) in action!
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