340 tons, 100 miles, 11 days: ‘Levitated Mass’ is finally rolling to LACMA

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You don’t usually associate construction workers with art.  At least, I don’t.  But starting Tuesday, there’ll be a team of hardhats deployed to begin the great march of the 340 ton boulder also known as Levitated Mass to its new home over a giant slit in the earth behind LACMA.

Stalled for months by bureaucratic proceedings to ensure that that march is safe, the eleven-day trek of  106 miles will begin at a quarry in Riverside, which gave birth to the blasted rock that’s becoming an artpiece.  Night-time is when transportation will occur; since the route is through such a densely populated area, travel at off-hours is key to making the schlep palatable to the municipalities involved.  (Insert corny “journey-as important-as-destination” aphorism here.)

Not to mention that it will have the least impact on traffic: The 200-foot long transporter takes up three highway lanes, and can only go as fast as 8mph. (Now that’s traffic, Kajon Cermak!)

Play along on LACMA’s website, where there’s a classroom activity guide to the giant sculpture, as well as a map of the route if you want to come out and wave hello:

Meet some of the guys who are going to make this possible in this video from the museum’s website:

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