Allison Jennings
Last year it was penguins, today I found Loch Ness Monsters!
Today's image is titled Last year it was penguins, today I found Loch Ness Monsters! was photographed by Allison Jennings.
Winter has brought artist Tim Browning back to the surface of Lake Monona. The longtime Madison artist and former collegiate prankster has installed his latest creation -- eight painted plywood sculptures of a "sea monster" -- atop the freshly frozen laketop near Monona Terrace. Though the cryptid was originally slated to debut in January, cold conditions have brought it to the surface for an early appearance. The foggy conditions over the weekend made for a particularly appropriate setting around the seemnigly submerged creature.
This Monona Monster is reminiscent of Browning's previous wnitertime work using a frozen lake as his canvass, including perhaps the best-known collegiate prank in city history. Last year, the artist created a small army of painted plywood penguins, which were subsequently placed atop the snow-covered surface of Lake Monona along John Nolen Drive depicting a march to Iowa. Two years ago, he installed a work on the ice in front of Law Park that presented a pod of orcas surfacing from the lake's frigid waters. All three works, meanwhile, recall the famous bust of the Statue of Liberty that looked to be emerging from the icy surface of Lake Mendota in front of Memorial Union, an iconic stunt perpetrated by the members of the Pail and Shovel Party at the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison in the '70s, which included Browning as a founding member.
The creation is the latest project in this winter's edition of BLNIK, a temporary public art series presented by the Madison Arts Commission (MAC). The city program describes it as "an opportunity for experimental, ad-hoc, temporary works of art to sprout up throughout the community and vanish leaving residents and visitors eager to see what is next." Other projects slated for this season are watercolor pencil paintings by Abbie Kurtz, a kinetic sculpture by Kent Hutchinson, a retrospective exhibit for deceased East High alumnus Brendan "SOLVE" Scanlon, printed cards by Emerson Stone III, and an eco-friendly design festival at Edgewood College already held early this month. More details about these works are provided by the MAC.
This is the latest entry of Madison Snaps: photos of Madison-area events and locations. This is the primary source for Madison Snaps, which are published here with the permission of individual contributors. If you are interested in having your photo eligible for Madison Snaps, please respond to the posting on the Flickr group page, or send a message. There is no compensation for Madison Snaps photos, which are © to the respective photographers.
