March 10, 2012

What is the carbon footprint of the 340-ton rock transported on a 196-wheel vehicle on an 11-day journey to an art museum in L.A.?

And why doesn't The New York Times, celebrating the project on its website front page, question the environmentalism of this project?

It's art precisely because it has no practical use. Meanwhile, driving a mid-sized car or turning on an incandescent lightbulb is an environmental sin, characteristic of our ordinary lives, for which the NYT never tires of shaming us.

***

We talked about this art work last month: here.

Here's the rock's Twitter feed: "I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight..." etc. etc.

53 comments:

Hoosier Daddy said...

You can't expect liberals to live up to the same standards that they expect from everyone else.

rhhardin said...

Depending on the altitude difference, it's not much carbon.

Moving horizontally slowly (so there's no relative wind) is very cheap.

edutcher said...

It's art because some Lefty says it is and thus is exempt from all Lefty snark.

MayBee said...

Good point!


Speaking of carbon footprints- did you see the Daily Caller piece about the number of planes to be used to haul Obama and his family/admin around for his upcoming campaign?

Chip S. said...

Because whatever the specific topic, the real question is who decides?

By definition, whatever the people in charge choose is the correct choice. When individuals choose otherwise, they must be corrected. If they are susceptible to friendly persuasion, fine. If not, there are other methods.

cubanbob said...

Ms. Ann shame on you for demanding intellectual consistency from the bien pensant. Now go and repent for your heresy.

madAsHell said...

When does Moses return, and smash the golden calf?

I stopped reading at "drenched in moonlight".

The NYT web site is tricky. I think you are allowed one view a day, and then they request a password.....or sum'thin'

Toad Trend said...

"Meanwhile, driving a mid-sized car or turning on an incandescent lightbulb is an environmental sin, characteristic or our ordinary lives, for which the NYT never tires of shaming us."

Hoosier has it right.

Liberalism IS hypocrisy.

And it must be MOCKED openly at every opportunity.

Baronger said...

So what I need to do is find an interesting lamp, put a lightbulb in it, and put it in a room that is not in use.

Then just turn it on and keep it on, but call it an art piece. Since no one is benefiting from the light it will be ok.

Chip S. said...

Here's the rock's Twitter feed: "I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight..."

Stoned?

This Rock has 1,000 times more followers.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

It is a rock, but not an island.

Hagar said...

Where is the recession?
What recession?

$10-11 million and tying up traffic in all directions for this "art" project is just what we need at this time to make all the little people feel better!

CachorroQuente said...

Carbon footprint this, carbon footprint that, I'm sick of all this carbon footprint crap. If it's so important that we reduce our carbon footprints (feetprints?), why aren't those who believe that catastrophe is right around the bend not doing anything to reduce their carbon footprints? Why is Al Gore still flying around the world getting his globe warmed? Why did Obama take Air Force One to NYC so he and Michelle could go out for dinner? What was the carbon footprint of that little trip? Probably more than the carbon footprint of all the 100watt light bulbs in the U.S. for a year. Why did Obama come to Houston for a campaign fundraising trip which probably had a greater carbon footprint than I will have for my whole life and they want me to use those CFL things and put air in my tires. What's wrong with these assholes, have they never heard of Skype?.

Bruce Hayden said...

Hoosier has it right.

Liberalism IS hypocrisy
.

Let me suggest that that is because liberalism is no longer really populist. Rather, it is faux populist, with pampered Dem politicians running around the country pretending to feel the pain of the lower classes, but in reality pocketing as much as they can along the way. They are, instead, elitists.

What is often skipped over is that socialism is, by its very nature, elitist. You have some elite who are somehow supposed to be better qualified to order everyone else's lives, and therefore believe themselves entitled to do so. Now, it doesn't really matter that they are inevitably self-appointed.

The hypocrisy comes from the tension and conflict between what they say, in order to win the votes and minds of the lower classes, and what they actually do in their elitist cocoons. They have been getting away with this for a long time, with the active complicity of much of the media, who want in on this elitist lifestyle, or, at least to rub shoulders with those who do belong.

This isn't the first time, and won't be the last that leftists are hypocrites about the environment and AGW. Remember Hopenhagen? The global confag a year or two ago where global warming gurus and pandering politicians flew into Copenhagen on their private and government jets to steer the world to a carbon free state - and found that they had to park their jets a country or two away, because there weren't enough parking places in Denmark for all the jets that flew in there.

BillyTalley said...

Extravagance was the first word that came to my mind when this project started. I fielded this to a learned and respected friend (my own qualifier, I know) in the art world, and he defended Heizer's project on the grounds that this is what art can do, it is a great feat and a huge feather in the hat of LACMA. In an environment where MOCALA is on the verge of going bankrupt, raising the profile of an art museum is a survival issue. I conceded his point.

Later, when the rock made its progress in the epic move, crowds flocked to see the fet in progress. People, ordinary non art world people were delighted and charmed. Reporters were asking folks if the rock is art, all said yes that I witnessed in the TV news. Then they asked LACMA people what art is, with feeble results. Here's my answer: art is about the imagination, if it enlarges, that is art. Whether it is great art or not is another question for another time.

Toad Trend said...

"Liberalism is hypocrisy".

"The hypocrisy comes from the tension and conflict between what they say, in order to win the votes and minds of the lower classes, and what they actually do in their elitist cocoons."

Yes.

traditionalguy said...

In Obamerica moving 340 tons will be a stop and start proposition.

It will require a 1000+ mile extension cord bringing the Wind Mill generated electrical power for the motors. And wind (unexpectedly) is a stop and start source.

Thus Obamerica will be cleansed from dirty carbon pollution.

Chip S. said...

LACMA missed an opportunity to get lots of money for job creation if it had only arranged to have the rock moved by this method.

Small carbon footprint, too.

Petunia said...

What a scam by the "artist", to convince people that a big rock on a ramp is art.

At least it appears that this was not paid for by taxpayers, but by wealthy people with more money than sense. IOW, perfect Obama voters.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

“We’ll never see this again in our lifetimes. I cried when I first saw it.”

Virgin territory?

cassandra lite said...

I live in the rock's zip code. At first I didn't like that the rock was coming. But the last time L.A. came together like this (with the possible exception of the '92 riots) was in '84--the Olympics.

So now it's nice to have it. And to reflect on the fact that this rock has now traveled further from its home than Thomas Jefferson ever did.

Chip S. said...

@cassandra--You must go crazy over moon rocks.

Alex said...

I'll start to take the left seriously on global warming when they start to take it seriously.

kcom said...

"And to reflect on the fact that this rock has now traveled further from its home than Thomas Jefferson ever did."

Thomas Jefferson was US Ambassador to France for four years. When the rock makes it to Paris, let me know.

kcom said...

There's also this:

"While in Europe, Jefferson toured gardens and estates in England, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy."

The rock has a lot of catching up to do. I wonder if it can get a EurailPass to make things easier.

Meade might be interested in this part:

"He wrote feverishly in the Garden Book, and got all sorts of ideas for Monticello, in architecture, new crops, and garden design."

cassandra lite said...

Chip S. said: @cassandra--You must go crazy over moon rocks."

This is L.A. A very sophisticated place. Everyone here knows that the landings were faked on a soundstage in Burbank.

Phil 314 said...

Paul said to the Corinthians:
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

This rock says "the greatest of these is Art" and "Art forgives a multitude of sins"

write_effort said...

Exit Through the Gift Shop ... with That Rock.

kcom said...

"and what they actually do in their elitist cocoons"

Like award themselves $10,000 subsidies from the government purse for buying electric cars that no one else can afford, subsidy or not.

cassandra lite said...

kcom said: "Thomas Jefferson was US Ambassador to France for four years. When the rock makes it to Paris, let me know."

Yes, a big oops for my clumsiness. I of course (well, you have no way of knowing that it's an "of course" for me) meant by land on this continent. Apologies and mea culpa.

kcom said...

And I'll apologize if my comment came across as mean-spirited. I didn't really mean it that way (I very nearly put a smiley after it), I was just having a little fun and couldn't pass up the joke about the rock visiting Paris. The part about Jefferson touring the Continent I posted because that was actually news to me. I didn't realize he got around so far. That's farther than I've ever been (minus my two years in Africa) and he did it all when crossing the ocean was nothing to be taken lightly.

Nomadic100 said...

To point out every jot and tittle of the left's self righteousness and hypocrisy would be a more than full time job for a lot of people but very wearisome. What is highly predictable ceases to be interesting or remarkable.

write_effort said...

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the 340-ton rock that is in thine own eye?

Chip S. said...

write_effort said...

Exit Through the Gift Shop ... with That Rock.

Thanks to this comment, I just realized the brilliance of this exhibit. Selling souvenir gravel in the gift shop for ten bucks a rock.

Methadras said...

It's for art. The left is silent.

Rusty said...

rhhardin said...
Depending on the altitude difference, it's not much carbon.

Moving horizontally slowly (so there's no relative wind) is very cheap.



Kick it down the hill. Save a ton of money.

Unknown said...

Cassandra,

It's about 260 miles from Monticello to Philadelphia.

One way.

cassandra lite said...

Old Dad said: "Cassandra,It's about 260 miles from Monticello to hiladelphia. One way."

You know what? You're right. I stand corrected. I was passing on something I'd heard from a lecture by a Jefferson "expert" years ago. I blindly, or deafly, accepted it without ever checking (or thinking through). Funny, back when I was reporting at the NYT there was something called "a fact too good to check." Apparently, this was one of those. Thanks. Much appreciated.

Conserve Liberty said...

Actually, I'm pretty impressed by huge the middle class truck that moved the damned thing.

But dual WV can kiss my middle class a#$

Levi Starks said...

Post modern art at it's best.
A 300ton chunk of rock to mock every art major that wanders beneath it's shadow.

Corky Boyd said...

Printing a 2 to 3 pound Sunday paper that gets thrown out the next day is the height of wasteful carbon use, especially with the internet around.

The Times has been death (editorially) on plastic bags for grocery shoppers, yet they continue to stuff papers in their blue plastic bags.

The only thing that is consistant with the Times is,v if it benefits liberals or themselves, it's OK.

Jeff with one 'f' said...

Isn't this the party that you've supported for your entire adult life? At what point do you admit to being suckered?

Scorpius said...

L.A. Just fell for the oldest marketing scam: the pet rock.

wef said...

And if thine NYTimes offends thee, pluck it out.

Why, why, why do you people pay any attention at all to that power-worshiping, servile font of conventional lickspittle toadyism?

As to the waste of resources by your betters, well....let's just say that if you put up with it, you deserve it. You are not in on the joke, taxpaying suckers. It's for the children.

george said...

These people act as though they have never seen a rock before.

Stephen said...

Am I missing something? Are these people really waiting breathlessly to watch a truck go by with a big rock on it?

kcom said...

"which the NYT never tires of shaming us"

They can't shame you if you don't cooperate. They can act like jerks, but that's not the same thing.

Peter said...

I don't understand the "art". California is littered with big rocks, as is Arizona, Nevada, Utah, heck, most of the country.
Meanwhile every time it gets rainy half the effin' city there slides down the muddy hills.

BAS said...

Sadly, LACMA spends its money on this kind of drivel. Once you go inside as I have done on several occasions over the last 20 years you see that the paintings are second rate, second rate Picasso, second rate Monet, etc... They have great artists, its just when you see these paintings you don't know why the artists were so great.

Instead one should go to Pasadena to the Norton Simon, a phenomenal collection by a single man. Or to San Marino which is a couple of miles from Pasadena to the Huntington Library and Gardens.

FogartyFOTO said...

Fool magnet.

Mitch said...

It's not Art, it's DADA Art. DADA Art not surprisingly came about at almost the exact moment in history that Progressivism arrived on scene. This "Rock" is a perfect example of their ideology. The DADA ideology perfectly exemplifies Liberalism as they both exude nothing but Hypocrisy. The "elitists" have decided what is and isnt art for a century, this is the result...

Steve said...

The beauty of this whole thing is not that it's great art but that it's shows the power of a great civiliazation and our great engineering that we can do this - fairly easily.

Great art would be carving a 21st century Sistine Chapel out of it.

Timeforchange said...

I missed out on my pet rock. Maybe the pet rock supliers can get big rocks for all of us. I have the perfect spot in my rec room for a artful rock.