Members of the Colossal Collective, a group of Boise artists, designers, fabricators, and dreamers, spend their weekends building an 18-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall peacock prototype – the finished bird is planned to be 36-feet wide and 19-feet tall. “It’ll be huge,” says lead designer Sam Johnson.
In an aging warehouse about a mile west of where Treefort Music Fest will be held in Boise, ID, a giant peacock takes shape.
The one-of-a-kind peacock will roam festival venues, delighting and surprising visitors from around the globe during the 5-day, 400-act music and cultural blowout that has grown from a regional festival to a premiere event on the festival circuit in the U.S. The finished product will be made from nylon, PVC pipe, molded plastic, wood, metal, and lights. Software will control the lighting, a sound system will belt out peacock calls, and a 6-person crew will operate the entire contraption. Unlike most artwork, the viewer experience of this piece is one of being encountered. “At it’s best this art form can put people back into that child-like wonder state,” Sam said. Wonder how it all turned out? Keep checking back here for stories of all the festivities.
