Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Shake, Rattle and Roll ( or Etch-A-Wretch! )

By now, we've all heard about the earthquake that stuck on August 23, 38 miles outside of Richmond, Virgina. It's a geographic anomaly described by the news organization Reuters as a "once a century" occurrence. The quake registered at a 5.8 on the Richter Scale [ link ], which is described as "moderate strength" by the USGS [ link ] and was felt as far away as Indianapolis and Detroit. Thankfully, there are zero reported fatalities but structural damage was reported in numerous places including the Washington Monument, which is currently closed. [ link ]

Reports of property or retail damage are varied and numerous, but no one is reporting on one of the more unfortunate cases of destruction wrought by the unexpected earthquake: The one-of-a-kind Etch-A-Sketch art installation at the Toys“R”Us® Times Square location in New York City, New York.

Edward VanDerMeek III, Etch-A-Sketch art curator

Edward VanDerMeek III, prestigious art dealer and Etch-A-Sketch collector/enthusiast said of the tragedy "the quake came on so quickly, it was terrible. All I could do was watch as the horrific shaking destroyed my only love: the beautiful Etch-A-Sketch art that was on display, hung with care and pride from these once gorgeous walls."


The unfunny after-math of a 5.8 earthquake.

"It was terrible," Mike Hearthwick, Toys“R”Us® Times Square employee said. "It was jibbling and jabbling, this way and that and then all of a sudden, I heard VanDerMeek yell 'Oh, me Etch-A-Sketchies!' and go running up the stairs to the gallery, tugging at his hair and screaming. He really freaked out the customer I was helping. He's a little strange. What's the big deal, you can just draw them again, right?"

One of the ruined Etch-A-Sketch works

While there are currently no plans for reconstructing the destroyed art works, the Etch-A-Sketch's are being removed from the walls and are being replaced with a series of modern art pieces done by Magnique, a 7 year-old abstractionist who works solely in the medium of MagnaDoodle. The installation is slated to be completed at the end of August and will be on display through the months of September and October.

Making it all up,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

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