The Dream is Alive!

I talked about Detroit's desire to build a RoboCop statue last week. Detroit mayor and NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing politely declined to build a statue of RoboCop to for the city of Detroit. Well the dream is alive, the RoboCop statue will be built!

"Good news, sci-fi fans: RoboCop is headed to Detroit.

Just six days after raising donations on the Internet, a group of local artists and fans of the 1987 cult classic exceeded the fund-raising goal of $50,000 this morning to build a larger-than-life sculpture of the crime-fighting cyborg."

Great work by the citizens of Detroit (including you RJBO, we all know you donated for the cause) proving once again if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. 

Now the question is, where will the statue be placed? There's a couple of ideas.

"Fund-raising began last week after Detroit Mayor Dave Bing politely rejected a suggestion on Twitter that RoboCop would improve the city's image. Although the Tweet was a joke from a New England computer technician, fans of RoboCop swarmed cyberspace to call for a statue.

Once the price tag is determined, a team of skilled sculptures, including a team that worked with Bjork's husband, Matthew Barney, will build the sculpture from any number of materials. The group is working with the Mayor's Office to consider public spots, such as areas near Comerica Park or a downtown park.

If that doesn't work out, the statue may end up at Imagination Station, an outdoor art project cofounded by Paffendorf near the abandoned Michigan Central Station just off Michigan Avenue." 

Could you imagine the RoboCop statue next to the Ernie Harwell statue at Comerica Park? You walk through the gates and there it is standing right next to the great Ernie Harwell. Hell, I might even buy tickets to this years Tigers-Giants series just for I can get a picture of that statue. The tourist possibility for Detroit is endless now.

I would also make the statue animated for it can stop Jim Leyland from smoking in public. "Your smoke, Leyland."

(Via Detroit Free Press)