September 19, 2007

Stationary Banana On Texas

The Geostationary Banana Over Texas project seems to be moving forward. If you are not familiar with this website, it purports to explain an artist installation in a rather unusual location: hovering over the largest continental state. Apparently they want to build a huge banana-shaped floating banana and float it over the republic of Texas. They state that

The Geostationary Banana Over Texas is an art intervention that involves placing a gigantic banana over the Texas sky. This object will float between the high atmosphere and Earth's low-orbit, being visible only from the state of Texas and its surroundings. From the ground the banana will be clearly recognizable and visible day and night; it will stay up for approximately one month.

Of course, nothing about this makes much sense, the banana would not be visible from that height, and it certainly wouldn't be visible from everywhere in the state. It also wouldn't remain frozen in the sky, winds would blow it out of the state in a few days at most, and there is no way that they could float it as high as they say they would. I do enjoy the bit about using gyroscopes at each end of the fruit to maintain a particular orientation, though given everything else they've said about the GBOT I don't think the gyroscopes they would want to use are anywhere near light enough. Not to mention the fruit flies! Either they're loopy artists who can't figure out how to figure out whether of the stuff they are proposing is possible, or they just assume that the people reading their website can. Other than the obvious, who this website is intended to fool, mainly? People who don't know better? Artists? Probably Texans actually, but why a banana? Is this a subtle way of suggesting that they aren't getting enough fruit in their diet?

They recently stepped up their campaign with a slick-looking video interview of some Mexican artist. I have to admit, seeing it in that format sure makes me wish it were real. And if nothing else, the artists reasons on the main website's "Concept" page would be enough to convince you that these are your standard loopy modern artists.

It is banal.
It is Visual.
It is a fiction. It is live 3D. It is surreal.
It is dream-like.
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.

It is in Texas because it has oil,
and a lot of Walmarts, Exxons,
and Haliburtons. (and The Ranch)

It is a buffoon act, trying to
impress...
Texan dominant Aerospace,
and all the Gun Clubs.

Amazingly, the wikipedia article doesn't even cast suspicion of hoaxiness, nor is there yet a Snopes page dealing with the banana's claims.

0 comments: