We in Minneapolis/Saint Paul have a grand tradition of meeting adversity with art and that's exactly what happened today at the Liberty Parade.
Behind the link are the birds eye view adventures of a very large peace flapping dove puppet fitted with a camera to record the celebration!
There are lots and lots of pictures behind the cut!
With the able assistance of Murrayewv (aka- Mom), the bird was built and named Pascal.
Art is serious business. Very, very serious.
Pascal is currently living at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His formal gallery name is Dis'Armature and you can see him in the MCADfaculty show as part of the Unconvention.
Pascal is set up with a streaming camera that takes photos every 20 seconds. You can see his gormy beak and olive branch in most of the shots. :) All photos from this point onward are from the pov of the bird (a bird's eye view, so to speak)
He was liberated from the gallery (which amused the security guards- great folks!) and put on the back of my bike using a strange tube set up built for me by my buddy and general good guy, Bryan Unger. We (Pascal and I) biked downtown to the start of the parade.
The artcars were out in force!
As was Anonymous.
So, Pascal and I joined Anonymous because they were friendly and funny and hey, I'm from the internets too.
The parade started!
Pascal made a lot of friends and had his picture taken a lot.
Good natured bike cops were everywhere!
We were very popular. Mostly, I suspect, because of the awesome sound system that Anonymous brought along. Rickrolling was involved and everyone danced. Pretty awesome.
Fun was had by all!
Finally, the parade got to Loring Park and we got the chance to see and meet all of the other groups!
Paper Mache' Republicans (the best kind!)were out in force.
Pascal and I spent a lot of time with the giant Paper Mache' Ghandi. Very very cool.
Music was everywhere and everyone was dancing.
Lots of art bikes were out and about.
There was a huge constitution banner. Pretty epic.
It was so joyful. I wish all of you could have been there.
The day came to a close and Pascal and I biked back to MCAD- happy, tired, worn out and full of hope.
Here's the thing folks. When faced with what seems like a monolithic evil (or at least an astounding stupidity), the only thing we can do is make things and go out and try to get our point across. Pascal is a big silly object that made people smile, but he also made people think. We need to do more than just hope for peace. We need to get out there and work for it- show them it's important!
They spread hate and arrest us but they can't stop us. We'll make art and throw a party.
Pascal and I will be at the RNC tomorrow, so if you see us- smile for the birdy!