The Art Car – Cecil die Kröte
Cecil die Kröte is the name of the Töad Meädow art car and is perhaps the best example of the collaborative creation that happens at the Meädow. Almost a dozen Töads have put hours of labor and their ideas ideas into Cecil, and the synthesis of those ideas is magnificent to behold.
Those who made it happen
Arash first bought the art car and fit the skeleton cage that now holds the zip tie fur.
Debi (The Baroness) thought to replace the shitty original covering with metal mesh and attach the zip tie fur to it. She also added the eyeballs and deer antlers. Over 15,000 zip ties were used to make the fur. The Baroness did most of the zip tying, but had lots of help from assistant Töads over multiple art build weekends. Hell Hole from Rochester assisted.
With the Töad King helping, Fred Mount designed and built the wooden frame that holds the music amplifier, flame effect controls, speakers and supports the jump seats.
The Töad King designed and built the flame effects. He also installed a new engine when the original one blew up (not in a good way) and maintains the art car.
Frank Nitty donated the audio equipment and built the 400 watt sound system.
Jay (a white guy from Rochester, not the black girl named Jay Andromeda that also hangs with us), Mark and Melissa Meesa built the folding jump seats off the sides that increased the car’s seating capacity by 4 more passengers.
Buffalo artist Töads Melissa Campbell and Cat McCarthy repainted the art car.
A tale of collaborative, spontaneous creation
Close to a dozen people have worked on the art car. When we started with it, we had no idea how it would look. The art car concept changed and grew organically as everyone came and offered something different. It is a testament to the amazing things that happen when we get together to and build something spectacular.
The future…
- Electronically sequencing and automating the flame effects
- A train of 55 gallon drums to be toåd behind for passengers to ride
The Art Car’s Debut
The art car debuted in its current incarnation at the Buffalo Saint Patrick’s Day Parade on March 20, 2016. Here is the highlight video from that day: