The Topsy-Turvy Bus (”Topsy”) is two school buses welded together, one upside down on top of the other, that is currently touring the country to “dramatically depict America’s upside down budget priorities”. The bus was created by mega art car artist Tom Kennedy in Oakland with a team of 10 artists, who have a background working on art car and Burning Man projects.
The idea for Topsy-Turvy came from Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and president of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities along with artist Stefan Sagmeister. Tom and Haideen Anderson are currently driving the bus around the US, blogging about their adventures, with stops planned in New Hampshire and Iowa for the presidential primaries.
“Our nation’s spending priorities allow crumbling schools, millions of children with no health coverage, dependence on Middle East oil and deficits as far as you can see,” said Ben Cohen, president of the Priorities Campaign.
“I’m a guy who’s been looking to use art cars for social change, and Kennedy is a guy who wants to make art cars for a living with some social purpose,” Cohen said. “Clearly, we were both searching for each other.”
More coverage:
- San Francisco Chronicle (Meredith May)
- Daily Kos (Emily Duffy)
Here are some photos of Topsy-Turvy from Ken Duffy, Gary Wilson and Jessica Maass.
via » Cyberbuss
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Very cool project, but I wish it didn’t need the political justification. If it needs an explanation, then it doesn’t really “dramatically depict America’s upside down budget priorities†Where’s the connection?
And isn’t the fuel expenditure on that beast an odd budget priority?
As a statement, I don’t like it- as a fun project, I say full speed ahead.
Where’s Wally?
I love Ben Cohen, but when I think of all the other things this sort of money could do …. toward helping the people we’re destroying in the middle east for instance. Those in the U.S. that need to become aware of the upside-down priorities will never bother with this expensive project at all. Great piece of art though.
Way back in April, I posted some launch photos of the Topsy-Turvy bus that I shot in Berkeley. I worked for this campaign last year as the CarnyMobile driver, so was glad to finally see this project off the ground.
enjoy: HappyFeet and the Topsy Turvy Bus
Ben Cohen and Tom Kennedy know what it will take to wake up America, something big, bold and in your face. I can’t think of anything that could be a better advocacy project. Spending money on education and educational reform in America will bring about more change. The cost of this project is a drop in the bucket compared to the good that could come from it.
Not an odd budget priority at all. It is resource spent on education.
But if you’re worried about that aspect of the message, perhaps a few hundred people could yoke up and pull it by hand. And have some billionaires playing golf up on top of it. That would be an accurate illustration of the relationship between the tax-payers and the military industry.