Sounds like the plot of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, “Giant Red Rabbit Takes over Airport”!  Time to take cover, it’s not a movie or a fairy tale; there really is a giant red rabbit coming to the Sacramento Airport.  Everybody has been talking about it so you have probably heard by now; it’s been in the paper, in the news, and causing quite a buzz around town.  So what’s all the stir about?

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has approved a 56 foot high sculpture of a red rabbit to be one of the artistic displays at the new Sacramento International Airport Terminal B.  The airport expansion will be funded through airport generated revenue and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.  By county ordinance a percentage of the construction must be spent on public art.  So by law we have to have some art in this new public structure, but the controversy seems to be just what kind of art.  Does it have to be a rabbit?   Why not a frog (Kermit is kind of cute), or a bear (We have one on our state flag).  You see what I mean, just how did we settle on a rabbit, especially a red one?  Some say it’s outrageous, some say it’s whimsical, but everybody seems to have an opinion. 

The second part of all this hubbub is the cost of our giant, non-furry, red metal, leaping rabbit.  It comes with a price tag of $767,000.  That’s right, you heard me, over three quarters of a million dollars.  I don’t have anything against rabbits, but it seems to me we could get a lot more than just one giant red rabbit for that much money.  I’ll bet if we checked on eBay we could get a bunch of rabbits, maybe even a blue one and a yellow one too, and have money left over.  We would probably have enough to paint red bunny signs all the way from downtown to the airport.

Big Red Sacramento Airport Rabbit

 All kidding aside, I understand that art that will make a statement in a large space must also be large, which accounts for a portion of the large price tag.  Although I don’t think we got the most value for our dollars, my main problem with the whole project is not the fact that we chose a rabbit, or that it’s red instead of blue, or whether it is outrageous or whimsical.  I take issue with the fact that the art project was designed by an artist and professor at Denver University.  Especially considering the state of our economy why didn’t we search for someone local to design and produce the art we are going to display for travelers from all over the country to see.  I believe we have a strong pool of talent here in Sacramento.  If we couldn’t possibly find someone capable of producing worthy art in Sacramento, at least we should have broadened our search to the State of California before we looked elsewhere.  Let’s hear some comments on this; surely I’m not the only one that thinks we could find an artist closer to home that needs a job.