On Parade

 

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Last month I talked about the love lock bridges found around the world. The idea of a specific bridge or sculpture designated or created in a town reminded me of other creations I have seen throughout the years that make you immediately know your location. Now I could be talking about things such as the gigantic “bean” in downtown Chicago, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty or worldly famous Ethel Tower or Pyramids. But let’s think a little more obscure.

What about super large cowboy boots, cows, pigs, rearing horses, and even Jayhawks? Instead of a single artistic wonder, let’s think in multiples, scattered throughout the town so visitors are taken on a sort of scavenger or treasure hunt. Once I started researching the ones I actually knew about, I found there are similar “art parade projects” everywhere from Anchorage, Alaska to Washington DC; even in Europe. While many were started as fundraisers for various city projects, some were created for the love of art or as a way to showcase a particular aspect of their city. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason behind why a city started their art project. 

My grandson in Cheyenne  

And so our tour begins in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Scattered throughout the town are twenty-five 8-foot tall, hand painted boots depicting aspects of the state’s history-- everything from gambling and outlaws to governors. The project began as a fund raiser for the Cheyenne Depot museum with businesses sponsoring a boot and local artists doing the decorating. “These Boots Are Made for Walking” display even has a downloadable brochure with a location map and information about how to call up an audio program telling about the boots.

Now if you’re going to wear cowboy boots, you might as well have a horse, right? Travel to Rochester, NY, where in 2001, collaboration between local public relations & advertising firm Dixon Schwabl and Genessee Brewery used the horse theme to engage the community and showcase the talents of local artists by organizing sponsorships of 150+ life-sized, fiberglass horse statues. Once the project was done, the horses were auctioned off and the money raised went to various local charities. But twenty-one years later, some of the horses are still seen around the area. Horses on Parade: Where are They Now? — emily malkowski is one website with more information about the remaining horses and their background stories.

According to some, the idea that started an apparent copycat frenzy in the US was COWS ON PARADE in downtown Chicago, begun in 1999 with over three hundred fiberglass bovines let loose across the city with every imaginable theme painted on their backsides. And that, according to business owner Peter Hanig, was because of a “cow parade” he had seen in Zurich, Switzerland while on family vacation. Though not on permanent display, the cows are rounded up every ten years or so and corralled again for tourists’ pleasure. https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-cows-on-parade-20-year-anniversary-ttd-0701-20190628-zjz2qwbfrncgnlvaioqdyqtkae-story.html. New York also does a Cows on Parade, the last one being in 2021, again the proceeds going to charities in the five boroughs, but the cows aren’t on permanent display.

Probably the most weird “on parade” I came across was the “superlambanana” creatures in Liverpool, England. The original Superlambanana is a large yellow statue in Liverpool created in 1998 which has become somewhat the icon of Liverpool. The mini Superlambananas were sponsored by local businesses and painted by area artists and displayed in 2008 before being auctioned off to raise money for various charities.

There appears to be three different viewpoints with regard to “Art on Parade” projects. Some, like the Cheyenne boots, are a permanent part of the city, promoting tourism. Others began as city promotions, like Rochester’s horses, but after being auctioned off are still part of the city landscape, though scattered and not always catalogued. And third, we have those like the cows and superlambanana that were created, displayed and enjoyed, then auctioned off and either never heard from again or only brought out every ten or more years.

Personally I like the permanent displays the best. After all, if you want people to visit because you have a unique attraction, that attraction needs to always be available. Such is the display of hot air balloons in Indianola, Iowa. Though not as many or as large as some, these art sculptures tell a story. Originally begun as a money raising project for the annual National Balloon Classic, the majority of them can be found in front of the National Balloon Museum, National Balloon Museum | Indianola, Iowa, a fun and interesting place to visit. Others, such as the Crouse Café balloon, can be found in front of the business.

Yet another “on parade” are the Jayhawks in Lawrence, KS, home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Jayhawks on Parade offers a fun scavenger hunt around Lawrence | Arts & Culture | kansan.com These sculptures began as an event a decade ago that was to last five months, but many of the original thirty Jayhawks can still be seen around Lawrence and the KU campus.  Some have flown away with KU supporters as far away as California.

Does your town have an “on parade” art exhibit that highlights something unique about its history or people? If it doesn’t but you think it should, what would you use as the base for the art – lighthouses, salmon, pigs? The possibilities are endless. I think I would choose books; perhaps ten foot tall books decorated to portray local authors or history. Maybe an open book designed like a park bench but with a cover displaying local items of interest. Whoops, that’s been done. With Bright Benches, London Shows Off Its Love Of Books : The Two-Way : NPR.

Still, wouldn’t it be fun to have benches scattered around town for people to sit on and reflect about what makes your town so special and how happy they are to be there?

All Best Wishes,

Barb

http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin

https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/