R.I.P. World's Largest Meat Cleaver - Topeka, KS

I've talked before about the tragedy of disappearing roadside attractions and how sometimes my trips to see them end in disappointment. Most recently I wrote about the missing Muffler Man of Kansas City, Kansas. Sadly, I have another roadside attraction to add to the list of those fading from the fair Midwest - the World's Largest Meat Cleaver in Topeka, Kansas.

The World's Largest Meat Cleaver used to be at the corner of 6th Street and Jackson Street in downtown Topeka. It was not the only oversized roadside attraction in the Kansas capitol city - I have written previously about my visit to see the World's Largest Wren. But sadly my search for the meat cleaver came too late. It was first moved to Topeka in 2006 but by 2009 it was nowhere to be found.

I did a bit of research and found that the meat cleaver was part of a downtown topeka art project known as "Art in the Heart of Topeka" by Downtown Topeka Inc., the Future Heritage of Topeka Inc., and Washburn University.

The meat cleaver was officially called "Untitled II" and was created by Robert Craig, then an associate professor of art and the chairman of the Department of Art and Design at University of Iowa. The work was part of a series called "Skeuomorphic Works," in which he would take utilitarian objects (like a meat cleaver) and construct them on a larger scale. Craig explained his project, "My interest is equally sustained by awareness that these objects were designed for hand use and they are artifacts of a time when technology was still largely dependent on manual processes." His other works can be found throughout the country. "Untitled I" is currently in Skokie, Illinois, which I think is supposed to be an antique ship rudder. "Untitled III" is in North Carolina, and I think it is either a woodchipper or a pizza cutter.

As for the fate of "Untitled II" or the World's Largest Meat Cleaver, I have absolutely no idea where it has gone to.

Total Time Traveled: 1 hour

Total Distance Traveled: 54 miles

Soundtrack: "The Meanest of Times" Dropkick Murphys

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The Beast (The Largest Haunted House in the US) - Kansas City, MO

It's been years since I've been to a haunted house, but this Halloween my friend John and I decided to go to The Beast in Kansas City, the largest haunted house in the United States. That's right, the largest haunted house in the United States! And at five stories tall, that's not a surprising title. It is an elaborate maze through various scenes from the haunted Bayou, to the haunted English castle, to the serial killer's torture chamber - you wind through the dark and the fog until you have absolutely no idea where you are and how you got there. Then, you exit through a four story slide! (Which is why I don't recommend wearing a dress like I did - you will end up with your skirt over your head at the bottom.)

It wasn't too hard to find the haunted house or parking (if you don't mind paying for parking). We decided to drive there but there are regular pickups throughout town for those who don't want to drive downtown. We bought our tickets in advance, which I recommend doing. The line to buy tickets and get in was insanely long but the ticket line wasn't too bad. You can pay extra for a line jumper ticket, but I didn't really see the point in it. Unless you get there really late on a busy night, it's not really necessary.

I absolutely loved The Beast! The dark maze is disorienting in the best possible way. Some rooms are identically decorated so you have no idea if you've been there before - whether you are going up or down or in circles. It really creates a suspended sense of reality. The main scares are the surprises - sudden bursts of air, things popping out of walls or dropping from the ceiling, and of course the costumed employees suddenly appearing out of nowhere. There are plenty of high tech elements - a ghost king dancing, animatronic skeletons that leap out of coffins. I learned my friend John screams like a little girl and clings to me when an animatronic demon drops from the ceiling amid strobe lights and recorded shrieks. (Although I screamed like a little girl, too, so who am I to judge?)

The only downside to this amazing haunted house were the other patrons. The maze had very tiny hallways and there were way too many people inside. At several points it was like being cattle trapped in a chute to the slaughter, we were pressed against each other without hope of moving and at several points I had difficulty breathing in the cramped space. Overall, most customers dealt with this well by making jokes (mostly about being cattle), but a few people decided to blame everyone around them for the inconvenience. One man turned to me and got angry that I was somehow interfering with his group of friends. John and I were both a little shocked that he would be nasty and rude to a complete stranger, but I suppose some people are just unpleasant (Like me, because I hope he tore his pants on the way down the slide).

And, of course, there were the unsupervised children. I don't know what parents think it is a good idea to send eight and nine year olds into a dark haunted house at 10 o'clock at night without a parent but apparently there are many of them. The children enjoyed taunting people working in the haunted house and even trying to grab some of the props. I had an overwhelming urge on several occasions to turn into my mother and lecture them about respect for others. But instead, I suppressed my annoyance and focused on enjoying myself. I particularly enjoyed seeing a man in a serial killer costume chase one of the annoying little brats with a metal bar.

If you are looking for a road trip destination with a good scare, I really recommend making the trip to Kansas City for The Beast. Think about it - a good scare, a four-story slide, and you get to say you have visited the largest haunted house in the United States. You can't lose!

Total Trip Time: 3 hours

Total Distance Traveled: 40 miles

Soundtrack: "The Warrior Code" Dropkick Murphys

Johnny Kaw Statute – Manhattan, KS

You can keep Paul Bunyan, Kansas has Johnny Kaw. On the southeast corner of City Park facing Poyntz Avenue in Manhattan, a 30-foot Johnny Kaw looks out with scythe in hand to harvest wheat.

Kaw is a sort of Midwest compilation of American folk heroes into one great Kansas myth. While Bunyan was creating the Grand Canyon, Kaw was digging the Kansas River Valley. While Johnny Appleseed was wondering the countryside to plant trees, Kaw planted wheat and grew giant potatoes. He is also credited with inventing sunflowers, the state flower of Kansas.
Kaw did not have a sidekick blue ox like Bunyan, but he did have a pet wildcat and a pet jayhawk (the wildcat is the mascot for Kansas State University and the jayhawk is the mascot for Kansas University). Just like the rivalry between the schools, Kaw’s pets weren’t too keen on each other and their supposed fights were the cause of the Dust Bowl. Kaw had his own effect on the weather he was supposed to be able to control the weather by lopping the funnels off of tornadoes and wringing out clouds to bring rain to dry crops.

While the tall tales of Bunyan and Appleseed have developed over time, the legend of Kaw was invented in 1955 by George Filinger, a professor of horticulture at Kansas State University, to celebrate the centennial of Manhattan. The myth of Kaw was published in The Manhattan Mercury to celebrate the centennial and later collected into various books.

In 1966, Kaw was memorialized in a 30-foot, statue that cost $7,000 to build. He was designed by Elmer Tomasch, a member of the Kansas State University’s Art Department. Just as Kaw’s legend was created in Manhattan, the local residents created the statue by donating time, materials, and money in the hopes of cementing Kaw’s status as a Kansas folk hero.

I had never heard of Johnny Kaw before I moved to Kansas and still had not heard of him until I saw the statute on a recent trip to Manhattan. As the faded yellow and red Kaw looks out over Manhattan, children were running and screaming through the park playing on the jungle gyms and cooling off from the triple degree heat in the public pool. They didn’t seem to pay much attention to the giant folk hero towering over them as they played, but I suppose they are used to seeing the stoic yellow face with hollow eyes and a set, square jaw set against the clear blue sky.

For me, it was interesting to see though rather unremarkable. Since learning the legends of Johnny Kaw, I feel like the statue doesn’t do him justice. It is tall and it is prominent, but it lacks the whimsy of his adventures. It is monotone – a yellow and red painted statue that is only notable because it is big. When he was built, Kansans hoped the statute would solidify Kaw’s standing as a folk hero and the statute itself would become a roadside attraction. Well, he has become a roadside attraction but I don’t think as great a one as he could be. I wish there was something more to tell the wandering traveler who this legend is – who is the brawny man clutching a scythe so large it would clear a field in one swoop?

Even if the Kaw statute is not entirely awe-inspiring, I have fallen in love with the legend of Johnny Kaw. There is something quite brilliant about having a folk hero for your own state; something that conveys a sense of pride in the natural wonders of your home and the imaginative myths created to explain them. While Kaw may not have Bunyan’s fame, he certainly has a lot to smile about when he looks out from his home in Manhattan.

Total Time Traveled: 3 hours
Total Distance Traveled: 170 miles
Soundtrack: "Are You Man Enough?" Betty Blowtorch

The Golden Driller - Tulsa, OK

Back in my hometown of Tulsa, I decided to pay a visit to the very memorable roadside attraction of the Golden Driller. The Golden Driller commemorates the city’s standing as the oil capital of the world. At 76-feet tall and weighing nearly 22 tons, he is the third tallest free-standing statute in the United States. (Fun Facts: The Golden Driller is surpassed only by the Statute of Liberty and Our Lady of the Rockies. He is taller than Tribute to Courage, the large statute of Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. You can read about my visit to see Sam Houston here.)

The Golden Driller was originally built in 1953 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company for the International Petroleum Exposition and then erected again for the 1959 exposition. The statute was so popular that the company ultimately donated it to Tulsa. It was permanently installed at the Tulsa Expo Center in 1966. In 1979, it was named the state monument by the Oklahoma Legislature.

The sturdy iron and concrete man rests his hand on a real oil derrick that was moved from a depleted oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma; and an inscription at the base of the statue reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind."

I do have to make one teeny, tiny observation about the Golden Driller. It is one of the gayest things I have ever seen. And I don’t mean “gay” as in stupid, I mean “gay” as in

blatantly homoerotic. It is a bare-chested man wearing a hard hat, jeans, and a large belt buckle – attire that would be quite suitable on stage with the Village People or at a leather bar. The oil derrick is one large phallic symbol and the whole display is not helped by the rainbow lights on the Expo Center behind the Golden Driller.

This is, of course, not disparaging the Golden Driller. Rather it is oddly fitting for a Tulsa landmark. While Oklahoma is not known for it’s tolerance of the LGBT community (just ask Sally Kern), there is a large gay population in Tulsa. Some have even claimed Tulsa has the third-largest gay population per capita in the United States (although I have yet to find any statistical proof). It is just very discrete. As soon as someone makes a public statement about homosexuality in Oklahoma, there tends to be consequences.

Keith Kimmel, a 28-year-old gay man from Norman, sued the Oklahoma Tax Commission to be allowed to have a vanity license plate that said, “IM GAY.” Later, Kimmel filed a complaint against Tulsa police. He alleged police officer had come to a local gay bar to break up a fight. He claims the officers then “beat him” and made “several derogatory remarks were made with regard to my sexual orientation and the entertainers and/or patrons of the bar.” We may never know whether it really happened though, two days later Kimmel died from a drug overdose.

I am not suggesting Oklahoma police officers beat anyone who is openly gay. I’m just saying it’s not too hard to believe that an openly gay person in Oklahoma would be beaten for his sexuality, even by someone wearing a uniform.

And yet here is the Golden Driller – the official statute of the state and yet so very…well…gay. It seems like the Golden Driller is a monument to the state’s pride and history as the oil capital of the world but it is also a symbol of Oklahoma’s sexual identity crisis. Oklahoma is willing to accept an allusion to homosexuality – even at 76 feet tall – so long as no one actually says anything about it.

Total Distance Traveled: 7.5 miles
Total Time Traveled: 20 minutes
Soundtrack: “Carnival Ride” Carrie Underwood

World's Largest Praying Hands - Tulsa, OK

In front of Oral Roberts University, passersby can see one of the largest monuments to religious devotion in the world – the world’s largest praying hands. The hands reach 60 feet into the air and weigh 30 tons, making them the largest bronze sculpture in the world.

At the base of the sculpture is a plaque commemorating Oral Robert’s vision from God to build the university. God said: “Build me a University. Build it on my authority and the Holy Spirit.” (Of course, this isn’t the only thing God allegedly commanded Roberts to do. But more on that later.)

The hands were originally called “The Healing Hands,” and stood in front of “The City of Faith," a faith healing medical center. But the City of Faith declared bankruptcy in 1989 and so the hands were moved to the entrance of Oral Roberts University.

I’ll admit this now – I am terrified of Oral Roberts University. Part of this has to do with the founder, Oral Roberts. Some may remember Roberts as the televangelist who extorted $9 million from his viewers when he claimed that if he did not receive $8 million in donations, then God would “call him home.” Essential Roberts made a ransom demand with the Almighty as his greedy captor. The school has been plagued by similarly sketchy financial practices – from exorbitant debt to claims that the school’s administrators use school funds to finance lavish lifestyles.

Another fear has to do with the teachings of the school. Oral Roberts University takes Pentecostal religious fundamentalism to the extreme and enforces strict religious codes on the students. Students must sign an honor code, promising not to lie, curse, smoke, drink, gamble or engage in sexual activities outside of marriage. This last restriction also includes homosexuality – that’s right, Oral Roberts University does not allow openly gay students.

When not restricting the students’ behaviors, the school is restricting how they are allowed to look. Up until 2006, women were required to wear skirts on campus while the men wore button down shirts and ties. The students are also known for engaging in some controversial religious practices. In 1997, some students disrupted services at a Tulsa mosque by praying loudly for the conversion of the worshipping Muslims inside. I have also heard stories from ORU students about trips to Mexico to perform exorcisms and speaking in tongues.

I want to emphasize I’m not trying to disparage ORU. I’m just saying the extreme practices of the school administrators and the students really, really creeps me out. In this context, the hands have developed an ominous, almost malevolent feeling for me. When I see them, I don’t see a beautiful sculpture. I see a man using God as a justification for his practices, for good or for bad.

Total Distance Traveled: 5 miles

Total Time Traveled: 11 minutes

Soundtrack: "Carnival Ride" Carrie Underwood

Giant Sewing Needle and Button - Kansas City, MO

My first attempt to find the giant sewing needle and button in Kansas City almost turned into a disaster but my second attempt, as you can see, was quite successful. I had assumed from the description of giant sewing paraphernalia that something like this would be easy to find. That's not the case. They actually blend into the urban surroundings quite well and are located in a small plaza so it isn't easily visible from the main streets. It's something you have to really be looking for and I can't really say the effort is entirely worth it.

The steel sculpture was erected in 2002 in the urban park to remind people about the history of Kansas City's garment district. While it may be a reminder, it is not particularly awe-inspiring. At about 19 feet tall, it is not the largest needle or button in the world. It isn't even the largest such commemoration of a garment district. In the Fashion District of New York City at W. 39th St. and Seventh Avenue, you can find a much larger button and needle. It marks the Fashion Center Information Kiosk. Built in 1995, the sculpture has a 31' long needle and the world's largest button. Comparatively, the Kansas City version is dwarfed both in size and appeal.

As far as the park goes, it is more of an open concrete space than anything I would traditionally consider a park. Beyond the fountain, a few trees and a bit of shrubbery, it seems more like a place you would sit to grab a quick lunch then really linger for any extended period of time.

The district was placed in the historic registry in 1973. The urban park is meant to be a reminder of the garment industry's glory days as an important part of Kansas City's development. But the structure is not very informational. There's not much to learn about the history of the garment industry beyond a few plaques with some names and dates. Not being familiar with the garment industry, those names didn't really resonate with me as to who they were or what they might have done. To really learn something, you would need to make an appointment with the Historic Garment District Museum located at 801 Broadway. The museum is only open by appointment.

Total Trip Time: 45 minutes

Total Travel Distance: 44 miles

Soundtrack: "Rockferry" Duffy

Sam Houston Statue - Huntsville, TX

Anna and I left the prison museum and decided to go see the giant statue of Sam Houston, commonly known as "Big Sam." Of course, we should have taken into account our inability to navigate. She and I have an amazing ability to get lost no matter where we are and no matter where we're going. This led to our discovery of Homeland Security in Houston and our brief visit to a Texas prison in Hunstville. Yes, Anna and I technically went to prison. We were trying to find the guest center for the statue when we pulled into a parking lot. We then noticed the large fences with barbed wire. And the sign indicating we had just made a big mistake. We promptly freaked out (who wouldn't after learning about what really goes on in a Texas prison for the last hour?) But we escaped quickly and got our bearings. Eventually, we found the welcome center and it looks nothing like a prison.

Big Sam is actually named A Tribute to Courage by David Adickes. Sam is 67 feet tall, made from 30 tons of concrete and steel and stands on a 10 foot sunset granite base. That makes him the world's tallest statue of an American hero. Although comparatively, he really isn't that tall. Not counting its pedestal and foundation, the Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall - taller than two Big Sam's standing on top of each other. Still, its an impressive site. Big Sam can be seen for 6.5 miles from the south.

For those unfamiliar with American or Texas history, Sam Houston was an important figure during the Civil War. He was opposed to Texas seceding from the Union and was removed as governor when Texas did secede and he refused to swear and oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. He was a leader of the Texas Revolution and eventually supported the annexation of Texas into the United States. Some interesting things to know about him include that he was the only man in American History to be elected governor of two states (Tennessee and Texas) and he was a citizen of four nations (United States, Cherokee, Mexico, Texas.)

A Tribute to Courage was originally intended to be finished by March 2, 1993 for Sam Houston's 200th birthday. But the colossal nature of the project took longer to complete then expected so the final statue was not dedicated until 1994. Given the sheer size of the honor, I doubt Sam Houston minded the extra time needed.

Katy Budget Books Sign - Katy, TX

Texas advertising is all about going big. I noticed stores especially had a tendency to advertise with huge, inflated animals. During on trip on the high way, I counted about eight gorillas, eight eagles, four dogs, two cowboys and one Godzilla strapped to buildings and parking lots announcing sales and ridiculously low prices. If you don't want to rent an oversized animal for advertisement, you could build a giant armadillo like Goode's Armadillow Palace. Or you could just make your sign a giant noticeable object. Like a book.

I needed to stock up on reading material so Anna took me to Katy Budget Books. The first thing I noticed was the large sign designed to look like a huge book. I don't know if this is symptomatic of Texas' need for everything to gigantic or just a good way of helping people find one of the best bookstores around. There was a huge selection to choose from and the people were really helpful. When my pen burst on me and covered my hands in ink, the nice gentleman working there gave me a new pen to write with and showed me a sink where I could clean up a little. It was definitely a great place to stop, and not hard to miss with the sign.

But even though the Katy Budget Books' sign is big, it's not the world's largest book by a long shot. The World's Largest Book is located in Burma and has 1460 pages. Each page is three and a half feet wide, five feet tall and five inches thick.

It's not the largest book in the Midwest. The front of the Liberal Memorial Library in Liberal, Kansas was built out of concrete to look like an open book. The Book Front was designed by the building's architect George L. Pitcher and completed for the dedication of April 14, 1955 on the 40th anniversary of the library venture.

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but when it comes to making gigantic literature the state doesn't even come close.

Travel Distance: 10 miles
Soundtrack: Still listening to country radio

Large (But Not World's Largest) Armadillo - Houston, TX

With our nails freshly painted and our bellies full of cupcakes, Anna and I had some stocking up to do. We needed fresh provisions. As we were making our rounds to pick up the necessities, I saw some weird things, like a puddle of urine in aisle two of a store, a chipmunk in the yogurt display of Target, and a palm tree farm (explaining why there were palm trees everywhere even though they don't grow in Texas).

These things were weird, but this is Texas. And the truly weird things can not be seen in a grocery aisle. No, they are gigantic roadside attractions. Like a Large (But Not World's Largest) Armadillo in Houston, Texas.

Goode's Armadillo Palace in Houston isn't easy to miss. Especially with a giant, horned armadillo perched on a rock out front. Armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one" and this particular giant's shell is made from reflective metal so it literally glimmers and shines in the sunlight. The longhorns are an artistic addition and true to Texas heritage. The armadillo is the official small mammel of Texas while the large mammel is designated as the longhorn. Adding longhorns to the giant armadillo is a way to honor both of Texas' special creatures.

While Goode's armadillo is two-stories tall, it is not the largest. The actual World's Largest Armadillo, named Killer, can also be found in Texas. Killer, created by sculptor Marc Rankin of Strawn, was built in 2002 for a celebration at Six Flags over Texas. Constructed from scrap steel, Killer is 48 feet long and weighs 4 1/2 tons. (Fun Fact: A typical Giant Armadillo weighs an average of 28kg, so Killer weighs as more than 145 live Giant Armadillos put together!) The World's Largest Armadillo now resides at Fall Creek Farms in Granbury, Texas and still has the title in the Guiness book of World Records.



Total Travel Distance: 30 miles
Soundtrack: Country radio (What else are you going to listen to in Texas?)

God Bless America Sculpture - Chicago, IL

At the Art Institute of Chicago, you can view Grant Wood's iconic oil painting "American Gothic." Or you can walk down Michigan Avenue. You can't miss the 25-foot sculpture by J. Seward Johnson re-creating the classic image of Americana, titled "God Bless America."

75 years after Wood created the original image, Johnson designed this work for The Sculpture Foundation. It is a very realistic, grandiose, three-dimensional representation of the original. Honestly, I look back and forth from the painting to the sculpture and it really looks like the characters have stepped away from the flat surface and into the real world. The sculptor added his own little touch to the couple. At their feet is luggage marked from world travels. The suitcase is covered with bumper stickers from all the corners of the globe such as China and Bangladesh.

Seward designed this sculpture to be part people's daily lives. He said, "We are overwhelmed in the twentieth century with what technology has brought us. We need to be reminded of the warmth of the human spirit, and so examples should be present in our environments. We have to understand that our age can be a humanitarian one, and not one which relegates the human being to an alienated condition."

The sculpture is part of a rotation of works by The Sculpture Foundation on this spot. This particular work will be visible through October 2010. It is replacing another work by Johnson, "King Lear."

World's Largest Wren - Topeka, KS

Driving to Topeka after work was a liberating experience. I was going 70 miles down the open highway that cut through the flat plains with Carrie Underwood's new CD blasting on the stereo and a cigarette dangling from my fingers as I sang along at the top of my lungs to my new anthem "Out of this Town." But arriving in Topeka sent me tumbling back to reality. Out the window, I could see nothing but sadness. Boarded up buildings and crumbling small businesses lined the streets then faded as I moved into the government's district. But once I was past the capitol buildings, devastation took over again. The saddest sight was a wedding cake store that looked like it was just sinking into the dirtiness of the sidewalk.

It was a stark contrast to the signs that celebrated the city. I drove under an arch over a major intersection that brightly declared the city's status as a capital. And on the side was the World's Largest Wren in Huntoon Park. The park itself was sad. In fact, I don't understand why they call it a park. It's a median! A median in the middle of a busy intersection with grass, a sign, a big bird and one picnic bench. But that seems to be what passes for a park in this area. I had passed another "park" earlier that was more a patch of grass between the sidewalk and a parking lot. There was a sign to declare it a park, but nothing whatsoever particularly natural about it.

The World's Largest Wren has no plaque telling its history or purpose. It's just sort of there. It doesn't look well cared for either, the paint is peeling in several places. On its back are thousands of little spikes to keep pigeons from landing on it - sort of ironic I think to keep birds away from the giant bird. I stood around for awhile, waiting for something to happen I suppose. Waiting for someone to be in the park maybe or look at the bird. Mostly people just stared at me and wondered who that chick with the camera was standing in the median. So with a sense of disappointment, I started walking back to my car and dodged the oncoming traffic of rush hour.

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Trip Time: 3 hours
Distance Traveled: 153.5 miles
Soundtrack: Carrie Underwood "Carnival Ride"

World's Largest Shuttlecocks - Kansas City, MO

As I start planning my trips to see the curious roadside attractions of the Midwest, I realize the best place to start is at home. Only a half hour drive from my house and just across State Line Road is the world’s largest shuttlecocks. Sadly, most people seem completely incapable of pronouncing the exhibit’s title without tittering and some residents have objected to the name by suggesting the term “birdies” could be used instead. I don’t really see the problem. I played badminton in middle school gym with light rackets and shuttlecocks or birdies. Whatever you call them, they are still giant reminders of my athletic inability.

The shuttlecocks were designed by pop art sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen for the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Each stands at eighteen feet tall and weighs two and a half tons. If they are not the largest pop art sculptures, then with a combined weight of approximately 10 tons they are probably the heaviest.

The shuttlecocks are part of the Nelson-Atkins' sculpture garden, which I wandered one particularly sunny afternoon with my mother. She volunteers at the museum and was thrilled to show me her favorite piece in the garden, Standing Figures by Magdalena Abakanowicz. I was excited to share my first little road trip with her. It was a half-hour drive in the warm sun listening to country radio and singing along to Brad Paisely's "Start a Band." When we arrived, we saw other people enjoying the unusually good weather in the garden. People were playing football, looking at the sculptures, and I saw one group reclining by one of the shuttlecocks with a couple dogs. From a distance, the shuttlecocks don't seem intimidating. Just a rather unusual disruption in the lawn. But once you get close you can appreciate not only their sheer magnitude but also the details put into their design. How they seem to carelessly lean and perch, the realistic aspects of their design right down to the texture of the feathers are all impressive. I was especially impressed by their size. At 18 feet tall, they are more three times my height!

The four are spread out around the garden with three on one side of the museum and one on the other. The idea was for them to be spread out as they would be on a court with the museum as a net. Oldenburg and Bruggen were making a statement as much as they were creating an impressive installment. Art was treated as high brow and elite. By designing a piece of athletic equipment in monumental proportions (and with some vulgar connotations to the name), they made art accessible and common place. It was a way of extending art to the everyman. Just from seeing people hanging out around the sculptures, I would say they succeeded.

Travel Time: 1 hour roundtrip
Distance: 30.5 miles roundtrip
Soundtrack: 106.5 FM - The Wolf

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