Phoenicopterus Rex: a giant pink flamingo looms over Black Rock City
The fetish for big man-made things is one of our pet loves. A trip round Australia in the 1990s introduced me to The Big… Ant, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Chook and lots, lots more big plastic landmarks. Artist Josh Zubkoff had added a Big Flamingo to the platoon of big objects. His 40-ft Phoenicopterus Rex will loom over Black Rock City.
Phoenicopterus allows flamingo enthusiasts to climb a ladder and look around inside. Naturally, the pink flamingo will be perched on a bright green lawn of fake grass and surrounded by the white picket fence.
Phoenicopterus Rex- prawn-eye view
The original pink flamingo lawn ornament was created by artist Donald Featherstone. His creation came to epitomise American suburban kitsch, an attempt at beautification in mass-produced, bright pink plastic.
The ornament’s ubiquity and inoffensiveness inspired John Waters’ to name his breakthrough film Pink Flamingos. Waters told Smithsonian:
“The only people who had them had them for real, without irony. My movie wrecked that.”
Spotter: Josh Zubkoff
Posted: 19th, June 2017 | In: News, The Consumer Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
