New Alice in Wonderland Statue to be Installed in Texas Park in 2016
Alice in Wonderland fans, do you ever dream you are strolling along, minding your own business, when you suddenly stumble upon a Mad Hatter, a March Hare and a sleepy Dormouse at tea? Do you ever imagine sitting down, despite the cries of “No room, no room!” and helping yourself to the bread-and-butter? Do you ever recite your perfectly-rehearsed answer as to why a raven is like a writing-desk because Alice really should have been able to come up with SOMETHING, for pity’s sake!?
Don’t bother with a response, because if you are indeed an Alice in Wonderland fan, your answers to the previous questions are, “Yes, yes and YES.” Hold onto your oversized hats, because thanks to sculptor Bridgette Mongeon, soon YOU will be able to take a seat at the March Hare’s interactive table. For reals!
Bridgette has been working on this monumental undertaking for three years. Until very recently, the question of WHERE the bigger-than-lifesize sculpture of Alice, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Dormouse and friends would reside was a big secret. Last week on July 4, the 150th anniversary of the original publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it was announced that the lucky town is Bellaire, Texas. Two fine folks named Jerry and Maury Rubenstein commissioned the statue to be placed in a park to honor their mother, Evelyn. Come late 2016, we all get to enjoy it! There will be plenty of empty spots at the table to sit down and eat your own picnic lunch amongst your new eight-foot-tall bronze best friends. The name of the sculpture? Move One Place On.
I attended Bridgette’s presentation at the Lewis Carroll Society of North America‘s Spring meeting a few months back in Austin, Texas. She gave an engrossing talk on her artistic process, which includes everything from traditional sculpture to 3D printing to getting a neighbor girl to dress like Alice and jump on a trampoline. (In order to get Alice falling down the rabbit hole just right, or course. Adorable!) I also learned that, in honor of Alice’s aforementioned 150th birthday, the sculpture will include one hundred and fifty elements of Wonderland hidden throughout. One hundred and fifty. Bridgette is writing a field guide to help find them all! I’ll admit, I did a little lobbying to get fan favorite Bill the Lizard included in the hidden elements.
I’m a huge fan of the famous Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park in New York City, so I am understandably excited about another region of the country getting its own Alice sculpture! How about you? Will you make the trip to Bellaire, Texas to visit Alice and her mad friends?