Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Yodocks

Yodocks, named after their inventor, are used as barriers by being put into place and then filled with water to make them stable. Earlier this year a temporary (3-month)art installation went up at one of the entrances to our neighborhood, Barton Hills. The video below is of the volunteers working on the installation on a windy Saturday and, for the record, none of our property taxes went to pay for it.



Later that day was the Opening Reception and we walked over for it, delighted to see that at night it looked like a giant Lego castle.

This hill area was choked with weeds and never noticed, it was just there. Now this art installation has changed how you see the area and it will always seem different, even when the installation is gone. Like it or not, it is art. Art? Got your attention, didn't it? Art.


There has been a lot of discussion about this on our neighborhood newsgroup and none of it is neutral. People either like it or hate it. For the record, we like it. It isn't necessarily attractive or that well done but it IS an attempt to alter your perception of your environment. And it makes us smile, not only because it is amusing but because we can picture the sputtering and frothing at the mouth of those who hate it -- the ones who devoted the time, effort and money to put up this psedo-official sign:

1 comment:

Hashi said...

Haha, I think that is awesome. Both the premise of using "commonplace industrial materials in an unusual and humorous way" and the pseudo-official response. Shake people up (but not in a gratuitous, shocking way)! Yeah!