Giant Ducks Land in Monteith Park

Duckies 1

If you visit Monteith Park in the View Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, you can hardly miss an unusual sight: a 6-foot-tall bright yellow mother duck followed by her three 4-foot-tall duckies on a splash of emerald green grass. What are they doing there, you ask?

Well, it’s another art installation by the Los Angeles-based artist “Wild Life,” known for his “guerilla art” installations that are meant to inspire Angelenos into think about art and outdoor space.  “Wild Life,” who keeps his identity secret for artistic purposes, is known for his art hijinks.

In 2012 a family of life-size sunbathers in an empty downtown lot; and then a papier-mache deer mysteriously popped up among the weeds of 4th and Hill streets. A wooden tree sprouted from a stump near Spring and 2nd streets that same year.

Also, eight random spots in downtown L.A. were marked with what appeared to be official city plaques, but with a twist: instead of marking architectural monuments and historic sites, they offered elaborate background information about the dumpsters, city blocks, and signposts, at least as reported by The Lost Angeles Times.

The duckies, which flew in on March 20, are meant to signal the first day of the Equinox—or the first day of Spring. They will be nesting in the View Park neighborhood until May 1 and then will go as quickly as they landed.

Funded by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission hatched the plan with Wild Life.

“It’s a nice unexpected surprise in the landscape,” said Jennifer Lieu, Civic Art Project Assistant for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. “This is meant to be lighthearted and fun and unexpected.”

So, the question remains, where will they fly off to next in their unexpected L.A. voyage?