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He better ing do it. Now I'm looking forward to seeing a big banana in the sky. Mother er.
Artist wants to give Texas a giant banana
Web Posted: 01/07/2007 02:14 AM CST link
Long story short, Canadian wants to put a giant helium banana over Texas for 2 years to float around and what not
John MacCormack
Express-News
The French gave us the Statute of Liberty, Mexico sort of gave us Texas, and now Canada wants to give us a giant helium-filled yellow banana.
More specifically, Montreal artist Cesar Saez hopes to send a 1,000-foot-long banana dirigible into the southern sky next year to make giant loops over the Lone Star State.
Rendering courtesy of Cesar Saez
Canadian artist Cesar Saez hopes to send a 1,000-foot-long banana dirigible over Texas next year.
Question: What do you think about a 'banana' floating over Texas?
"I want to bring some humor to the Texas sky," said Saez, 38, who's well known in Quebec for his public works of art.
"It's an artistic statement and a spectacle. One thing I love is the issue of truth or hoax, and I love the ambiguity," said the Argentina-born artist.
But this is no joke. If all goes well, the giant bamboo and paper banana will be launched from a site in Mexico in summer 2008 and then drift eastward over Texas before it disintegrates.
"This will be the largest airship ever built, and it's going to stay in the sky longer than any balloon ever did, using 19th-century technology," he said.
Even at a stratospheric al ude of 20 miles, the yellow fruit will be visible to earthbound Texans, said Saez, who so far has raised about a fifth of the estimated $1 million he needs for the project.
Some very responsible people, including the Canada Council for the Arts, which contributed $15,000, are taking him at his word.
"There's no question this is a serious artistic project," said Donna Balkan, a spokeswoman for the national arts organization.
"It's a work of public art, but what makes this project unusual is that he's using the sky as his venue rather than a park or street corner," she said.
Saez's proposed project is in the tradition of the avant-garde artist Christo, made famous for large-scale public art works.
Christo may be best known for his works of "wrapping," such as with national monuments in France and Italy, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Mechanical engineer Manny Teran, whose Michigan company nearSpace Technology is providing consulting, says the project is a scientific challenge even if the artistic vision is a bit unclear.
"I'm not exactly sure what it's all about. For me, its just another opportunity to work on what I'm passionate about: lighter-than-air aircraft," he said.
"No one has ever done this before. Things are moving forward and I'm excited to be part of it."
In Texas, reaction among state officials to the political and security implications of a giant yellow fruit drifting around overhead has so far been guarded.
Spokespeople for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Crad didn't respond to questions posed Friday about the project.
After several hours of consultation and review, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry released an enigmatic statement.
"If it works, people will probably go ape over it. We have to be careful, though, because putting bananas in orbit could create a slippery situation," Robert Black said.
Up in the Panhandle, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said he is bracing for a deluge of extraterrestrial sightings about 18 months from now from his high-plains cons uents.
"There will obviously be flying saucer stories and all kinds of stuff like that. It will be wonderful, and I don't think it violates our airspace," Chisum said.
"I suggest we all have a banana pudding together and watch it go over."
Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration were caught off-guard last week when apprised of the space project.
"My first reaction is, are you being taken for a ride? I had some trouble with my folks in Washington, they didn't believe it," said Roland Herwig, an agency spokesman in the Southwest regional office.
Though Herwig wasn't sure what federal agency should be consulted, he was certain that someone somewhere would need to sign off on the project.
"You can't just put an object over the United States without checking with agencies and organizations," he said.
"They'd have to coordinate with the U.S. Space Command and others, anyone from homeland security to the FAA, for something that goes to those al udes," Herwig said.
Saez, however, says his lawyers believe the space where the banana will float is beyond the reach of earthly authorities.
"Space out there is like the high seas, even freer. There is no jurisdiction, no flags," he said.
Space buffs and scientists offered mixed predictions about whether the project would come off as planned, with the fruit remaining in sight for several weeks.
"The problem is stratospheric winds will blow the thing away from Texas," said Forrest Mims, author of "The Country Scientist" column, which appears in the San Antonio Express-News.
"Secondly, at that al ude, this thing will not be that big. It will be hard to see. And they'll have to use high-pressure technology or the thing will burst."
But Anne Thompson, a former NASA ozone specialist now teaching at Penn State University, said the project is not implausible.
"It sounds reasonable to me. Other people do these very long duration balloons for scientific work. I don't know that they go that high," she said.
"It's art and engineering. I think it's fantastic. I love Christo. I like someone trying to do something different."
Why did Saez choose a banana, and why did he also choose Texas, home to NASA, George W. Bush and the Alamo? The artist conceded that launching a giant cabbage over Pennsylvania, for example, would not have the same impact.
And although he was cir spect on the phone about the concept, he gave away more on his Web site, www.geostationarybananaovertexas.com.
A banana, it seems, symbolizes many things, from comic to phallic.
"In the land of dreamers and the ones with faith, a banana appearing in the Texas sky might seem like a message. As a signal," reads the concept page on the site.
"It is in Texas because it has oil and a lot of Wal-Marts, Exxons and Halliburtons (and the Ranch). It is a buffoon act, trying to impress. ... Texan dominant Aerospace and all the Gun Clubs."
He better ing do it. Now I'm looking forward to seeing a big banana in the sky. Mother er.
I bet it won't happen and I'm going to go through life pissed off about looking forward to seeing a big flying banana and it never happening.
Why did you start this thread you evil bas ?!?
...this is a combination of hilarious/cool/insane. but it brings me to:
"if you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."
...upon further thought...a 747 is about 230 feet long and has a cruising al ude of 30,000 feet (about 5.6 miles). so this banana will be able to be seen if it is only a little over 900 feet and hovering between 18-30 miles above the earth...? i suppose so, cause the banana will be about 4 times the size of a 747 and be hovering about 3-5 times the cruising 747's al ude.
...but you might have to know where to look
http://www.myspace.com/knowthyself_jgw
...i'll take that as a compliment, thank you.
We can't believe you actually have a MySpace
...yeah, i amaze myself sometimes. i signed up to try and keep in touch with my friends in california, but i don't use it much...still email mainly, although i do use the private messages feature on myspace a lot.We can't believe you actually have a MySpace
i reckon it being bright yellow might have something to do with it being highly visible from the ground....upon further thought...a 747 is about 230 feet long and has a cruising al ude of 30,000 feet (about 5.6 miles). so this banana will be able to be seen if it is only a little over 900 feet and hovering between 18-30 miles above the earth...? i suppose so, cause the banana will be about 4 times the size of a 747 and be hovering about 3-5 times the cruising 747's al ude.
...but you might have to know where to look
...i have no doubt it will be visible. but highly?...not so sure.
what happens if it crashes when it's hovering over a city? tragedy? yeah... funny? you bet ya.
Take a look at the comments in the "Talk Back" section of mysa.com, people are getting all kinds of angry/excited/depressed over this banana
Comments
"Tell this guy to keep his bannana to himself. Don't let this goofball make fun of our Lone Star state!Artist??? Bull...lony"
"to take humor so seriously sounds like a self-defeating effort to me. i'm sure there are better ways to put a million dollars to better use. maybe if the banana were wrapped in a giant condom there would be some redeeming educational aspect to this."
"DO YOU REMEBER THE TROJAN HORSE FROM HELEN OF TROY?
WELL IN THE OUTSIDE IT LOOKS LIKE A BANANA.BUT ON THE INSIDE IS A GIANT "CHORIZO"AND HE IS OUT TO GET US ALL?TELL HIM TO SHOVE THE CHORIZO WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE!WHAT NEXT???
JOE"
"I think this guy is a jackass and he can shove the banana where the sun doesn't shine!! Ihave a question for him: Did you eat paint chips as a child or do you smoke yourself stupid?"
Last edited by TxJudsonRocketTx; 01-08-2007 at 04:13 AM.
hmm...to be honest i think its genius. i know there are much better ways to spend $1 million, but people are probably not going to spend that money on other humanity ventures, anyway. and while one can argue a $1 million goes farther in feeding Africa, etc...imo, this project could have limitless positive affects.
1. improved creativity/removal of boundaries
2. inspiration
3. motivation
...i like it.
im sure some idiot is goin to shoot it down....
...other than the military or government, that would be pretty difficult. do you have a gun/cannon that can shoot at least 18 miles?
Yeah, it's in my pants.
I'm really looking forward to the flying banana.
It doesn't sound very a-peeling.
Whats the point?
Won't happen. A dirigible cannot attain that al ude.
...well, we'll see. but keep in mind, its not a ship...its a flying banana.
Flying banana is the greatest thing since The Alamo
...i think, i would agree with that.
Check out the photo gallery of what it will look like soaring above the broad Texas plains
banana pics
...yep, saw that. i really do think its a genius idea....hope it happens.Check out the photo gallery of what it will look like soaring above the broad Texas plains
banana pics
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