Heavy Duty Incorporated

This one ain’t holding water. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed when I finished making it. But the people have spoken! It got a lot of compliments this Halloween from the large number of visitors we had. Halloween is big deal in our neighborhood. People come from all over to trick-or-treat here. I’m not sure why. The streets are jammed with drivers parking their cars anywhere they can. There are police patrolling on Segways! There was even a police car going up and down the street with its lighting flashing and blasting “Monster Mash.” One of our neighbors had a sign on his door by 8 PM that read:

Too Late!
We had 424 treat bags and now they’re gone.
See you next year. Maybe.

I used a drill to make this jack-o-lantern. I started with a big hole saw (hard to get the core out after each hole), a forstner bit (fast clean cut, but throws pumpkin chips everywhere), a spade bit, and a couple smaller drill bits (they can leave a ragged edge on the surface). There was no plan. I just freestyled around the pumpkin until it looked done. I put the opening on the bottom so I could work around the top.

When a mere costume is not enough, call performance artist Robert Brokamp. In this exhibit we see the artist inhabiting what appears to be a handmade toilet stall, in some sort of twisted homage to another type of performance artist, disgraced senator Larry Craig. Note the exquisite attention to detail, with a newspaper on the floor, prosthetic pervert arm reaching under stall, and descriptive signage.

This short-lived installation is now closed, but you can read more about it at the Washington Post. (scroll to bottom)

The second picture is from an earlier Halloween performance where Mr. Brokamp portrayed a member of the Blue Man Group. And to think, I use to work right beside such greatness.