Once again we had the honor of celebrating a Warriors championship by parading the Mayor, her family and MC Hammer through the streets of Oakland on the Snail Car. Hundreds of thousands of Warriors fans came out along with some of our favorite local art cars- a rare but exciting mix of art and sports. Congratulations Oakland! One more thing to be proud of in this crazy town.
La Machine is the incredible art team from Nantes, France who are creating some of the world’s most exciting large scale art and immersive performance experiences. Today, I am happy to announce that we have been in conversation with them, Mayor Schaaf and some potential financial backers about the possibility of La Machine returning to Oakland in 2018-19 with both LONG MA JING SHEN and LES MÉCANIQUES SAVANTES!
Our collective vision is to bring these two enormous creatures all the way from their home in Nantes, France to wander the streets of Oakland. We are proposing a four day show, with the creatures starting on opposite ends of town and meeting downtown. Each day, as they make their way towards one another, they’ll make four designated stops where the creatures will perform alongside a host of local artists and performers, uniting La Machine’s team with Bay Area artists to co-create an unforgettable experience.
Our week started at Bruce Beasley’s sculpture garden where Francois Delaroziere and Fredette Lampre La Machine gave a stunning presentation outlining some of their major projects. It was an exciting introduction for those who weren’t well acquainted with their work and by the end of the night I was delighted to observe how we’d all experienced the movement from being awe-inspired to feeling a thrilling sense of purpose. It was the kick off we were hoping for to begin drumming up excitement for our big plans
Photos by Jillian Northrup
Then came Maker Faire who invited Les Machines de l’ile to present and La Machine’s Giant Ant to play and perform. We were placed right next to them with the Golden Mean Snail Car and the Electrobite and enjoyed seeing the creatures get to know each other. They were exceptionally well received and as always we thoroughly enjoyed sharing our art with the kids (old and new) and learning of La Machine’s new project the Herons Tree.
We wrapped up our long weekend with a Monday morning meeting at city hall. Mayor Schaaf expressed an encouraging amount of excitement over the prospect of hosting the huge art festival in Oakland and it looks like we’ll have the necessary support of the city. There are a million details to work out but as far as starts go, this is a good one.
One concern we all shared was how to incorporate all of Oakland’s artistic facets. It’s diversity is largely what makes it one of the greatest art hubs in the US and we all agree that this event will require many spotlights.
Another obvious concern is where to get the money for such a grande vision. The city of Oakland doesn’t have the financial resources to ship a 50 foot tall dragon, nor a 50 foot tall spider across the ocean. That’s clearly up to us event planners to figure out.
Our immediate focus moving forward is on securing the funding. We’re looking for a small number of large donors and would love to speak with anyone who’s interested in financially backing this world-class event. Once we succeed in making this event happen Oakland will once again be making world news- this time for being the first US appearance of La Machine’s large creatures and for the amazing local art and entertainment we have in store.
We would love to invite all of you to join us in Ottawa 2017 to see for yourself how incredible this event could be.
Enormous thanks to: Konnie May – Project Coordinator, Bruce Beasley, The Crucible, Adam Nelsen & Mike Pierce from Oakland Spirits Co, Kristina Lazar from Spirit Works, Catherine Boyd of Holy Cheeses and of course the Empire of Dirt Crew!
It’s no surprise people are talking about Oakland’s new mayor, Libby Schaaf, but there’s one detail that seems to surprise everyone: her mayoral ride, the Golden Mean. Apparently most political figures don’t travel to their inauguration in a giant snail with flaming eye sockets.
Schaaf and I first connected during the 2013 Oakland mayoral race around West Oakland business. I agreed with Schaaf’s vision for an Oakland that supports artists, makers, and industrial businesses like mine. When she requested the Golden Mean make a campaign event appearance, I was happy to oblige.
When Schaaf won the election, we took a celebratory ride in the Golden Mean. But the greatest honor came with the last request: a ride for Schaaf and her family to her mayoral inauguration. The event was quintessential Oakland: held at the Paramount Theater, the mayor and her family arriving in the Golden Mean, Schaaf’s acceptance speech including “hella”, and protesters reminding everyone of issues to be addressed.
When we first built the Golden Mean in 2008, little did we know it would someday make Oakland history. Working nights and weekends, the snail car my wife Kyrsten dreamed up was built by her, myself, and our Empire of Dirt crew of artist makers in my West Oakland Form & Reform shop. Since building Golden Mean we’ve made the Electrobite and Serpent Twins, but you’re less likely to see our mayor riding around in them, seeing as they’re not street legal.
As part of Schaaf’s inaugural week, the Golden Mean Snail Art Car will soon make another appearance at the public event celebrating the great town of Oakland and it’s makers this Sunday, January 11. We hope you’ll join us for the “Made in Oakland” Inaugural Festival at American Steel in West Oakland from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Inauguration
SFGate / SF Chronicle – Libby Schaaf sworn in as Oakland’s 50th mayor
San Francisco Magazine – That Fire-Shooting Snail Car That Mayor Libby Schaaf Keeps Driving Around Oakland Is the Best Thing Ever
Inside Bay Area – Libby Schaaf sworn in as Oakland mayor
Laughing Squid – Oakland, California’s New Mayor Libby Schaaf Rides Snail Art Car To Her Inauguration
Election Victory Celebration
KQED – Video: Libby Schaaf Rides a Giant Mechanical Snail
SF Gate/ SF Chronicle – Libby Schaaf celebrates Oakland mayoral victory: “an awesome city”
SJ Mercury News / Oakland Tribune – Libby Schaaf celebrates decisive victory and ‘Oakland’s awesomeness’
CBS – Quan Concedes Oakland Mayor’s Race; Schaaf Celebrates In Fire-Breathing Snail Car
Golden Mean Snail Art Car
Facebook Fan Page
Instructable / how it was made
Blog: Golden Mean
Recent Golden Mean in Oakland
Popular Mechanics Video – How Oakland Is Becoming Northern California’s Next Great Startup Hub
Last Spring we shot an episode of Modern Marvels called Weird Machines for the History Channel. I features both The Golden Mean Giant Iron Snail Car and our restored 1920’s Hogan Tesla Coil and is set to air Nov 28th, 2011.
Check your local listings for air times.
Great to be back for our 3rd show with Insomniac at Beyond Wonderland! Lots of familiar faces and a warm welcome for the snail and crew! This year we brought our new remote fired flame ball and let the crowd light up the night sky to warm the rest of us. I always enjoy seeing people smile when they realize they just made that huge fireball. Met up with some great DJ’s and even got to hang out with Paris Hilton!
What a great show! I love shows where art and craft meet and these artists are gifted in both. Fantastic use of real materials and humor. Look for Kathy Aoki showing the “Tomb Room” and several other artifacts from the Gwen Stefani Archaeological Dig ( 2468-2478 A.D.).
We call ourselves Oilpunk so it’s only fitting that we visit the source,
the Mecca, the La Brea Tar pits (right next to the LACMA).
