The Date Box - Find the Red Button:
Okay, we did not actually, per say, pull this activity from The Date Box. But! It is in The Date Box to be pulled. It was one of a few Date Box activities that we both knew about before hand. Therefore we discussed it with people when explaining The Date Box in casual conversation. And people (mainly, some of my favorite relatives) got excited about this particular date and begged to set this one into motion. Even though we had not yet drawn it from the box. But who are we to pass up an awesome outing? The great hunt for the red button was on!
A little bit of info about the red button from an interview with the artist, Dean Ruck:
"Well, the location for the button itself was just something that was accessible to pedestrians up there. It is not labeled, and that is important to it - from my idea that - I didn’t want to announce it as a piece of art. It’s - it’s an occurrence, an event, a happening. The button itself is up there unannounced, and so it creates a - a real curiosity to people that come across it - it’s just a red button. Do I push it or don’t I? - You know? What’s it gonna do? So, I liked that idea that it’s not a labeled or plaque piece of art. It’s just something that people discover. Obviously it’s - there’s a certain ephemeral quality to it because it’s not always there to see. It happens occasionally. You have to be - here at the right time to see it. It creates a certain mythology of its own by what’s going on there, what it’s for, what its function is, how it’s - how it’s created. So I like that idea of it not being thought of or - or seen as a piece of art, but it just - something in the bayou."
Rhonda and I have been talking about finding the infamous red button for many, many months. We knew, roughly what area of downtown it resides, and that's it. We didn't know what the button did. We didn't know the exact location. We were anxious, not only for the grand pushing of the red button, but also for the quest... for the adventure sure to accompany such a quest.
[SPOILER ALERT! If you read beyond this point, you'll see where the red button is... just sayin'.]
Adventure, it was. Trudi, Katie, Erin, Rhonda and I traipsed all over Sesquicentennial Park and The Wortham Center, searching high and low for the red button. We asked passers by if they knew where it was. They quickened their pace away from us because they thought we were crazy. We stumbled upon another art installation by the same artist, Dean Ruck. We found and photographed pretty leaves. We saw a guy wipe out on a Segway. We saw the city of Houston from new angles. We heard a screech and caught a glimpse of Trudi high-tailing it across the street toward the red button. We followed suit. We celebrated.
OMG! The red button! We found the red button! Confetti and glitter! Yaaaayyyyy!
Except... when we FINALLY pressed the red button. A moment of glory comparable only to staking a flag at the top of Mt. Everest (yes, it was THAT exciting). Nothing happened.
Everyone was sad. These are their sad faces. It was a very anti-climactic moment.
Moments later, a family also in hot pursuit of the red button, told us what the red button did. And based on some previous knowledge combined with the fact that Rhonda is a damn good Nancy Drew, we learned that the button was, for lack of better terms, out of order. It did appear however, that it would be working again very soon. So... red button quest 2.0 anyone?
A little bit of info about the red button from an interview with the artist, Dean Ruck:
"Well, the location for the button itself was just something that was accessible to pedestrians up there. It is not labeled, and that is important to it - from my idea that - I didn’t want to announce it as a piece of art. It’s - it’s an occurrence, an event, a happening. The button itself is up there unannounced, and so it creates a - a real curiosity to people that come across it - it’s just a red button. Do I push it or don’t I? - You know? What’s it gonna do? So, I liked that idea that it’s not a labeled or plaque piece of art. It’s just something that people discover. Obviously it’s - there’s a certain ephemeral quality to it because it’s not always there to see. It happens occasionally. You have to be - here at the right time to see it. It creates a certain mythology of its own by what’s going on there, what it’s for, what its function is, how it’s - how it’s created. So I like that idea of it not being thought of or - or seen as a piece of art, but it just - something in the bayou."
Rhonda and I have been talking about finding the infamous red button for many, many months. We knew, roughly what area of downtown it resides, and that's it. We didn't know what the button did. We didn't know the exact location. We were anxious, not only for the grand pushing of the red button, but also for the quest... for the adventure sure to accompany such a quest.
[SPOILER ALERT! If you read beyond this point, you'll see where the red button is... just sayin'.]
Adventure, it was. Trudi, Katie, Erin, Rhonda and I traipsed all over Sesquicentennial Park and The Wortham Center, searching high and low for the red button. We asked passers by if they knew where it was. They quickened their pace away from us because they thought we were crazy. We stumbled upon another art installation by the same artist, Dean Ruck. We found and photographed pretty leaves. We saw a guy wipe out on a Segway. We saw the city of Houston from new angles. We heard a screech and caught a glimpse of Trudi high-tailing it across the street toward the red button. We followed suit. We celebrated.
OMG! The red button! We found the red button! Confetti and glitter! Yaaaayyyyy!
Except... when we FINALLY pressed the red button. A moment of glory comparable only to staking a flag at the top of Mt. Everest (yes, it was THAT exciting). Nothing happened.
Everyone was sad. These are their sad faces. It was a very anti-climactic moment.
Moments later, a family also in hot pursuit of the red button, told us what the red button did. And based on some previous knowledge combined with the fact that Rhonda is a damn good Nancy Drew, we learned that the button was, for lack of better terms, out of order. It did appear however, that it would be working again very soon. So... red button quest 2.0 anyone?