Fungal sculptor Bill Davenport sends this photo of the Giant Mushroom Forest on Studewood south of W. Melwood St., showing the central toadstool freshly decapitated. His explanation for the un-making of his own work: the middle sculpture, originally designed for only a year-long Austin stint back at the turn of the decade, was crumbling and unstable, and had to be demolished last Sunday. “I’m sad to say the other two are not far behind,” he adds.
Davenport is now crowdsourcing funds to put toward restoring the trio and getting them in shape for a longer-term gig. The 3 giant mushrooms (not to be confused with the 3 giant mushrooms that sprung up down the road by Inversion Coffee House a few years ago) currently reside in front of Urban Harvest’s Tiny Mushrooms community garden.
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In exchange for donations, backers can come to Davenport’s E. 11th St. junk shop and pick up a hand-painted Mushroom Stone, sized proportionally to the amount of money chipped in; a large donation could earn you a rock the size of a football, but “there are even tiny mushroom pebbles for donations down to 25 cents,” writes Davenport. “Everyone gets a stone.”
- Help Save the Giant Mushroom Forest [IndieGoGo]
Photo: Bill Davenport
So…I give you my money…and you create another piece of art just like you already created but is now going to the trash heap…how is this saving the old sculpture? And what do I get out of it again?
Looks to me like a whole lotta psilocybin going undrunk.
Superdave: Unlike the original, which was intended to be temporary, the proposed replacement Mushroom Forest will be made to last: solid concrete rather than hollow, re-bar, all the good stuff! It may still be standing when the next Democrat is Governor of Texas!
In addition to a durable and quaint roadside attraction, you personally get a hand-painted rock! How can you beat that!?
@Bill – I am not convinced. However, I appreciate your enthusiasm. I promise to come visit your shop soon.