A new piece of public art is scheduled to be installed sometime next week.
“This is a fun time to come downtown and walk around,” said Kristi Jilson Sykes, executive director for Westobou, about Leonard “Porkchop” Zimmerman’s Monkey Business art display.
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Sykes got word Monday that the installation would be next week, but she doesn’t have the exact date. It will require some heavy machinery to get the work ready.
Monkey Business will feature five four-foot tall by eight-foot wide monkeys. Zimmerman has created two designs – robot monkeys and sock monkeys. The concept is similar to the Barrel of Monkeys game. The monkeys’ arms will be curved so they can link together as in the game.
“I’ve been calling it barrel of monkeys, robot sock monkey monkeys,” he said.
Keen Signs and Design is making the robots out of several layers of materials including PVC and aluminum. They will be placed on the exterior of 1051 Broad St. as if they are climbing the building. The former furniture store is its own public art display with a couple of murals on it already.
The project has evolved from a couple of separate ideas.
In 2019, Zimmerman received a Porter Fleming Foundation grant. The creator of the Happy campaign wanted to put the Happy robot on a downtown water tower; however, the concept was too cost prohibitive. Estimates for the project ranged from $75,000 to $150,000, and the grant was a fraction of that.
So, Zimmerman opted for several smaller projects including three murals dedicated to James Brown and the Monkey Business installation.
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Zimmerman attributed part of the Barrel of Monkeys’ concept to Sykes.
In December 2019, Zimmerman was part of First Friday exhibition at Field Botanicals called “Flakes.” He created his own version of the Barrel of Monkeys game out of Plexiglas, and he sold out of them.
“Kristi said ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if these were bigger?’” he said.
Monkey Business was supposed to be part of November 2020’s Westobou Festival, but according to Zimmerman, COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into the works. The pandemic led to the cancellation of last year’s festival, but Sykes said it didn’t kill the spirit of the festival.
“We decided to spread out the projects in the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year,” Sykes said.
Also, there were permits and other requirements from the city to get the project approved, they said.
Sykes said Monkey Business complements the other public art already downtown.
The exhibit will be up for about six months, but Sykes said that it can be moved to another location when it comes down.
With the Happy campaign, Zimmerman gives away buttons and stickers with the Happy logo on them. As part of Monkey Business, he’ll continue that trend with stickers, buttons, coloring sheets and paper dolls. People can participate in scavenger hunts related to the installation as well. They’ve even come up with the installation’s own hashtag #MonkeySeeMonkeyBou.
Sykes said she’s enjoyed working with Zimmerman on the project because he’s so excited to see it come together.
“Every time we’ve done something with him, I feel like it’s a dream come true for him,” she said. “It’s so fun to witness someone’s dream coming true.”
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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