During a mid-December trip to San Francisco, as I was walking along the waterfront Embarcadero between the Ferry Terminal and Pier 23, I was drawn to this strange metal installation with hanging monkeys.
Of course, I had to check it out.
As I got closer, I saw people pounding on the drums at the base of the device, and trying to get others to join in to “make the monkeys fly.”
The installation is a giant zoetrope called Homouroboros, created by Peter Hudson and originally commissioned by Burning Man in 2007.
When groups of people pound the drums in rhythm for 30 seconds, the monkeys start to spin and take flight.
At 20 rpm the monkey’s appear to be a single animation of one monkey swinging from branch to branch, reaching for an apple from a snakelike hand.
This exhibit was part of the Exploratorium — a museum of science, art, and human perception — located at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.
It was too early in the morning to visit the Exploratorium, which opens at 10 am Tuesdays through Sundays. Details for planning a visit are here.
If you visit San Francisco by cruise ship, the Exploratorium is very close to the new cruise ship pier.
Have you visited the Exploratorium in San Francisco? If so, please tell us the highlights of your visit in comments below.
View all of this week’s Photo Friday photos for “˜Beasts’ here.
You also may be interested in these Friday Photo posts”;
- Photo Friday: Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland
- Photo Friday: Swamp Shade
- Photo Friday: Space Needle Sunset
- Photo Friday: The Andes From My Window
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