Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Lumaca rosa yells at us: "Slow down!"

One sunny morning during a run on the Venetian causeway, I noticed two huge pink things in the distance. I kept running until I got closer and realized they were two big snails about 8 ft tall and indeed they were VERY pink. Then I saw two more across one of the bridges on Venetian Way. I went back and took pictures. Later I found out the snails are part of the Regeneration Art Projects in collaboration with Galleria Ca' d'Oro and Cracking Art Group. YES! Art Basel is here!
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The snails are made by six artists and they intend to create consciousness about the environment as they are made out of recycled plastic taken from landfills. Being slow motion animals they also want to contrast the way we live our lives, usually rushing. They evoke the idea of having a place to live as they carry their own homes and they remind us to listen to each other with their ear-shaped form.
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Additional snails are located at 5th street (Median at Lenox Avenue) Lummus Park, Alton Road & 20th Street, Alton Road & 41 Street and Maurice Gibb Park. They will be gradually moving towards Collins Park around mid-December and we will have them in Miami until the beginning of January.
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I can’t wait to enjoy Art Basel. I already have a list of events I want to go to, while I finish my last two classes at school before graduation, prepare for my mom’s visit during the holidays, deal with end of year objectives at work including travel outside the US… In the meantime every morning on my run the pink snail grabs my attention with its vivid color and tells me in a low deep voice:
T-A-K-E    T-H-E    C-H-I-L-L    P-I-L-L…
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UPDATE ON LUMACA: December 6, 2010

Running again this morning, I saw that the pink snails are already moving. Three of them are at Maurice Gibb park, right at the end of the Venetian Causeway towards Alton Road...

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...except for one of them .. who was launched to the water by who knows who. Too sad :(
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You can read the story at http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/06/1960578/gigantic-art-snails-are-attacked.html

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