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If you raised your eyebrow at the thought of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hauling a 340-ton, two-story rock from Riverside to the Miracle Mile in the name of art a little bizarre, well, you're not alone. Many area residents, including art lovers, a bit baffled by how this big ol' boulder is serving as art, and meriting all this hoopla.
Someone has created a Twitter account (@LACMARock) so people can follow its journey to the museum. LACMA tells us they are providing live updates on Twitter @LACMA via the hashtag #LevitatedMass. However, someone who isn't such a fan has created a Facebook page for the rock: The Stupid LACMA Boulder.
What the Facebook page creator, and others, seem to be centrally concerned about is the cost of this rock: $10 million.
The rock is actually the centerpiece of an installation by artists Michael Heizer called "Levitated Mass." The piece has been in the works for years, and while the original haul date was October 25, the ensuing "bureaucratic nightmare" found the transport date pushed to February 28.
The rock began its 105-mile journey last night. It's only traveling at night, so as not to disrupt traffic, and its only moving at about 8 miles per hour. You know, so it won't get scratched up.
Many people on Twitter are expressing a curiosity to see the boulder on its trip from the IE to LA, which will take until March 10 to complete. Others are not so convinced.
"I like rocks and I'm all for artistic expression, but this is just a tad ridiculous," Tweeted @tuff_cookie. "So the 10-million-dollar rock is on its way... Will the Occupy LA kids show up at LACMA to protest?" asked @MiracleMileLA. "Why all the fuss about that stupid big rock being moved to LACMA? Why move it at all?" pondered @WorkingReporter.
Indeed, there has been a lot of fuss, particularly in the media, making this rock a true rock star.
If you are just boulder-curious, or a true fan, you can use LACMA's gawker's guide to the boulder's journey to keep up-to-date on the big rock's big trip. Let's all just hope they've spent some of that $10 million to figure out how "Levitated Mass" isn't going to crush museum-goers should it fall. We hear this is earthquake country and all...
*Ed.'s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that @LACMARock was an account created by LACMA.
