Austin-San Marcos, TX (1888PressRelease)
January 19, 2008 - The Hamster WheelMobile, a 22 foot human-powered hamster art car, is seeking a new home and owner in a 10-day national search held online at Ebay.com. The art car is 22 feet long x 11 feet wide (two car lengths) x 10.5 feet tall, powered by four 7 foot diameter human hamster wheels, one person in each wheel. It was commissioned in 2006 by First Night Austin, a family-friendly New Year’s Eve festival that takes place annually in downtown Austin, premiering to over 130,000 attendees on December 31, 2006 in the Grand Procession parade on Congress Avenue. (www.firstnightaustin.org)
Artists & owners, Mary J Baird-Wilcock & her husband Garreth Wilcock, are moving into the new Mueller development in East Austin, a “mixed-use urban village” which has significantly smaller lot sizes than their current home, where the art car is currently stored. (www.muelleraustin.com)
“When Maryj received the grant to build it, we were thrilled at the opportunity of bringing big art to Austin, Texas. But after the festival was over, the first question was: what do you do with a giant hamster?” Garreth said.
With the impending move, the deadline approaches for them to find the answer quickly.
“Originally, I wondered if an ad agency would like to use it for a campaign. You know, the whole ‘get out of the rat race’ kind of thing. During the parade, we dressed in corporate suits and ties. That’s the main message behind the Hamster WheelMobile,” states Maryj, who nicknamed the art car “Conan the Hamzilla” in tribute to Conan O’Brien of NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” show.
Perfect for art car enthusiasts, those seeking a permanent public art installation for a museum, children’s library, or office building and/or those who like hamsters (really big ones), the Hamster WheelMobile is a steel structure, expertly engineered with a central pivot point for full turning radius with a removable stretchy polyester fabric overlay. The art car can be disassembled and transported on a flatbed trailer. A portion of the proceeds will be donated back to First Night Austin, to support more public art festivals for years to come.
For more information, you may find this auction item “Hamster art car” (item no.140199783830) listed in the “Really Weird Stuff” category on www.Ebay.com (http://tinyurl.com/2xe3t3), or to schedule an interview with Mary J Baird-Wilcock, please call 512/695-7744 or email Maryj at thesimplifiers ( @ ) yahoo dot com. For more info on The Simplifiers, visit www.thesimplifiers.com
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