

Is There No Curiosity in This World? by susy derkins, Labyrinth Dog
December 17th, 2007 2:17 AMSo, I am documenting here the way I experimented with the curiosity of others by building a labyrinth on a public space.
I am including proof of labyrinth-building because, well, because what am I going to do with it if I don´t post it, anyway?
45 points instead of 250 but the Era is about to end, so who cares?
First there was the preparation stage: finding out the perfect location and the right media. The perfect site ended being a fairly large space on the side of the road, overlooking the city, on one of the interstate highways that get to Mexico City.

It seems that the spot was built purposefully as a lookout (very popular as a "lover´s lane") but that now is closed by a permanent rail, so no parking is possible.
After much thinking I decided on "rolled down quicklime" as the media of choice for this project. The effect is not permanent, but is long lasting during the dry season. Paint rollers are fun. The extension pole is good for the back. Quicklime is cheap.

I discovered how to draw labyrinths from a seed pattern and I do it all the time. My family rolls their eyes at my labyrinth-covered napkins when we eat out. This is how it looked halfway through, and how did it look when finished, and how it was walking through it.


The final effect from the road was dissapointing, though. The labyrinth is almost invisible.

So I decided to come back the next day and paint a bigger labyrinth alongside the first one, this time oriented to the North.
Curiosity experiencing subject #1
When I was getting ready to start painting the second labyrinth, a Federal Police truck stopped by the side of the road. I, of course, panicked. But I also thought that it would be better to look busy and cool. So I went and placed my compass on the place where the center was going to be, pretending to pay no attention to the parked police truck. Was an officer on the radio alerting all units about me? Were they getting their handcuffs ready? It stood there for a couple of minutes, then one cop got out of the pickup and walked towards me.
Police Officer X: Good day!
Me: Hello, officer!
Police Officer X: What is this for?
Me: Oh, we are going to have a "meditation in labyrinth" on Saturday (pointing at the finished small labyrinth). So we need to paint a big one too. Is a, you know, is a labyrinth, like the ones from the mayas (yeah, right, the Mayas! No idea where I got that from).
Police Officer X: Aaah. But I don´t know if you know you have to ask permission at the "Federal Roads and Bridges" offices..
Me: Oh, yeah, we already did that. Is just that I don´t have the paper here with me, my partner is supposed to bring it, but he is so late now that I better get started.
Police Officer X: Well, just try to move your car as close as possible to the rail and put on your triangles or cones or whatever so cars can see you OK.
Me: Right! The triangles, I completely forgot!
Police Officer X: Yeah, because the cars come down pretty fast by here.
Me: You´re right, thank you so much!
I went over to my car and got out my triangles and went to put them in place and by the time I came back the officer and his police truck were gone. I was shaking and so happy I didn´t have to be watching over my shoulder! The police had OKed the labyrinth!
I could now put my Tyvek suit on and start painting the big one.


Curiosity experiencing subject #2
A little while after the policeman was gone, a dog appeared, out of nowhere, and hanged around. He clearly experienced curiosity about the whole thing: this gal dressed in white, with blue hands, moving this boom-like thing on the floor, white dust in the air, those lines on the floor. This video shows what he was curious about and how.
Labyrinth Dog decided to stay. The whole time, that being about 2.5 hours, he was by my side through all the turns, sometimes getting quicklime on, poor thing. After more than an hour (in the midday sun, walking from one side to the other) he wasn´t a study subject anymore, he had become my collaborator. It is a lot easier to task with a partner...
Curiosity experiencing subjects #3 and 4
When we were about halfway with the tracing, a Federal Police squad car appeared. I kept on working, thinking that if my story had worked once, it might as well work again.
Two officers this time. Sunglasses and all.
Police Officer Y: Hello! What are you drawing?
Me: Hi! This? Is a labyrinth. For Saturday. I told your partner a while ago, I guess they told you on the radio? But my friend still hasn´t come, I´ll try to find him in his cell phone, and he is the one that has the copy of the paper from FR&B. (It was hard to know his reaction from behind the sunglasses. They kept on looking at me and at the labyrinths. Police office Z never talked).
Me: Yeah, I draw that one before, the small one over there that is going to be for the children. Of course we are going to get here by walking, because is dangerous to park many cars here, the trucks come down pretty fast.
Police Officer Y: Yes, but, what is the drawing? Explain us! (Crossing her arms in frint of his chest and smiling).
Me: Ah, the labyrinth? Is like a, well, a maze, sort of. Is kind of a very old thing, I believe the mayas have them and the persians and of course the egyptians and is, well, is a road that you walk, many people walk it barefoot, so, you start at the mouth, see? Over there? And so you keep on walking and the cool thing is that even when you feel that you´re getting farther away from the center you always get there and you don´t have to do anything, just follow the path, and you´ll get to the right place even if at first it appears as if you´re not. And then once you´re in the center, well, it seems that you´re lost and trapped, but again you just have to keep on walking and you´ll get to the exit, so is like a metaphor, you know, like for life? You just have to keep on walking so that´s cool. Do you want to walk it through? Please do!
Police Officer Y: Ah, that is cool. And is this for a religion or something?
Me: Well, no, we, well, we just try to take things from different places like the winter solstice that si coming, you know the shortest day of the year, that sort of thing, and so we are not sure if we are going to walk it at midday or at dawn, because well, it depends where the sun is going to appear, I have my compass there and see, that is North..so East will be...
Police Officer Y: (leaning down on my compass placed in the floor) Yeah, the sun will be coming right there. (Looking at me amused that I needed a compass). Don´t you know that? You can always know where North is if the sun is behind you.
Me: Yeah, well, I always get confused.
Police Officer Y: Well, but you know, at dawn is not such a good idea, this place was closed because people got assaulted here and we keep an eye on it but it would be better if you do your thing later in the day.
Me: Oh really?
Police Officer Y: Yeah, they closed it when a girl was kidnapped and then she appeared later naked and raped so...
Me: Oh, that´s awful!
Police Officer Y: Yes, well, the view is so good from here.
Me: (Noticing that they are looking at the labyrinth) So, please, if you want to walk it (they shake their heads, smiling), or well, I think I´ll be done in 20 minutes so if you want to come afterwards, or are you working on Saturday?
Police Officer Y: Yes, but we will be working night on Saturday.
Me: Oh, that´s too bad.
Police Officer Y: Yeah
Me: Hey, can I take you a picture?
Police Officer Y: Sure!
Me: Great! (taking the first picture).
Me: Wait, damn, I think this one is no good because you are in the shadow.
Police Officer Y: Yeah, it has to be the other way (turning around along with Police Officer Z, to get the sun on their backs)
Me: (taking the second picture) Like that, thanks so much.
Police Officer Y: And like this, showing the labyrinth.
Me: (taking third picture) Oh, yes! Great!
(Damn, I just had to say "Smile!" and I will have completed Charlie Fish´s Humanitarian Catharsis task! Well, technically not, I guess, Federal Police Agents are not security guards, OK. Oh, and the task involves laughing. OK, then. But I´d like to have a picture with them at least... Quick thinking is not my thing).
Me: I want to get on that hill on the other side of the road to take a picture from above.
Police Officer Y: Oh, yeah, that one is going to look cool.
So, well, we have to go now, (offering me his hand to shake).
Me: (shaking his hand) Officer, a pleasure!
Police Officer Z shook hands with me too although he never said a word, but smiled and nodded.
And then they were gone.
It was exhilarating! I couldn´t get myself to take a picture of the squad car, though. So nervous. I kept on working, Labyrinth Dog by my side.
Curiosity experiencing subjects #5, 6 and 7
Then, 15 minutes later, another police truck showed up.
With a TV camera in the back.
I swear.
Two federal police officers, one of them smiling broadly. And a guy in a yellow and orange coat. The guy with the camera waved at me while filming. The police officer shouted: "Almost done?"
My whole life passed before my eyes. They got me, they found out that I don´t have any permit, oh, no, what I am going to do, jail, and I am supossed to be at work! How am I going to call home to tell them that they need to get me out from the Federal Police?
Then the two police officers and the guy with the orange coat started walking towards me. The guy with the camera stayed in the back of the truck.
When they got near, I saw that the smiling one one was a Commander and the tall one was an Officer.
Police Commmander: So what is this? (big smile).
A Tall Officer who took his sunglasses off walked beside him. Everyone was smiling. It was amazing.
Guy in the orange coat: Hi, I am (I forgot the name) from Televisa (that´s the biggest TV network here).
Me: Oh, hi! (What the heck? Am I going to be on TV?!!!).
We shook hands, all smiling.
TV guy: So, is this going to be for an event?
Me: Yeah, this Saturday.
TV guy glanced at my cool Tyvek suit and said "Ah, from Dupont!", Uh? I mumbled something like "no, no, that´s just the suit, I am not, really", and went on about how cool the labyrinth walk was and the mayas.
Police Commander: So is this going to be a permanent thing?
Me: Oh, no, you see, is just quicklime, so it will dissapear.
Police Commander:(looking dissapointed) Ah, I see. This place was closed because people got mugged you know?
Me:Yeah, the other officers told me, a terrible story.
And then the Tall Officer started to tell us the whole story about how the muggers operated, with walkie-talkies, one guy watching from the hill on the other side of the road, alerting the others when there were couples there, this being lovers lane and all, and he went on and on about how they finally got this guy, a trailer passing, something about an M14, and they got him and well, he ran away but still he was injured because there was blood spots all over. He even reenact how he got his gun out and all, I swear. And he said that, well, after that there were no more assaults but they closed the place anyway.
After quite a bit of pleasant talk and copious invitations to come back and test the labyrinths we shook hands, they drove away. I finished painting and drove away, to work.
On my way there I met a squad car. A hand appeared on the driver´s window and waved at me. I waved back. There must have been officers Y and Z.
So now I am going to have an event there next Saturday.
I think is the winter solstice.
It will be the traditional Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk for Federal Police Officers and Their Friends.
Everyone is invited.
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(none yet)19 comment(s)
In the spirit of both "shplank" and in honor of your amazing completion I am beginning this task. I hereby declare that a Derkins is an act so replete with ballsiness, most especially in the completion of a task, that one is in abject awe and compelled to vote.
Who agrees?
"Derkins" is a perfectly cromulent word.
As always, your completions are beautifully crepuscular.
A vote for Labyrinth Dog is a vote for good in the world!
Man, I don't think I'd have to balls to lie to the police that much. Super impressed.
Tip: Always pick up task no-one has done yet, so you can run away with the fleur for a bit.
What was that, Charlie? Misleading themes? Cleading vines? Pleading memes?
Flitworth the Ninja, graceful master of nunchucks and origami roses, compelled to vote on my tasks? And coining a word on my honor?! How to be worthy of that?
so so so so rad, susy derkins. you are my hero.
THAT'S SO AMAZING. You convinced so many batches of police that you were legit. Now they're probably all at home telling their families about this thing the Maya do.
Totally Derkins!. This was a really good one. In fact, i think this was the first time i have honestly really felt upset that i couldn't hit the vote button once more. Awesome.
I laughed out loud by the third conversation with the cops.
Thank you for the comment Tom, I probably wouldn't have seen this otherwise.
C´mon guys! It is after all my only decent completion and you hadn´t even seen it!
It is a freaking homage to your O´Tyme the Pyramids!
I don´t understand why you were even talking to me then...
Vote!!! VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTEVOTEOTOVOETOVOEETOE!