Quest For the Bronze Bunny Begins

Quest For the Bronze Bunny BeginsIt will definitely not look like this. Flickr/Kirsten Skiles
Andrew Dudley
Published on September 20, 2013
What's bronze, expensive, and not expected to ship for a while? No, not the new iPhone (oof, sorry) -- it's artist Jeremy Fish's planned bronze statue of the Silly Pink Bunny.

As you simply must know by now, the original statue, which stood watch over the corner of Haight and Laguna for nearly three years, was demolished last week to make way for the upcoming 55 Laguna housing development. Now, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched to raise funds for the creation of a permanent, bronze version of the statue. Fish is seeking a total of $50,000 to bring the bunny to life. In return for your contribution, you could get a bumper sticker, a bobble head, a signed print, your name engraved on the statue, or more, depending on how much you give to the cause. Fish tells us the bronze version will look very similar to the original pink statue. The main differences will be the material (bronze vs. foam/fiberglass), the height (10 feet versus 7), and the hair -- the new bunny will have a "rad hair texture," which wasn't possible with the fiberglass version. Also, the new bunny will be positioned about 30 feet up Haight Street from its previous corner location. While the bunny statue certainly got a lot of love from residents and visitors alike, it wasn't universally adored. Specifically, the skull imagery irked at least one of our more frequent commenters. In response, Fish explains the statue thusly:
the skull and bunny, to me, fully represent the push and pull of good vs. evil, or "cute vs.creepy". the lower haight is a much safer place today than it was when i lived there almost two decades ago. i lived on haight above what is now memphis minnies, and also on the corner of laguna and fell. at that time it was a much more grimey, violent place. the statue, in all its weirdness, will stand as a reminder of a neighborhood that has gone through a major transition from pretty creepy to pretty cute, like so much of our fair city in the last few years. it is just one artists interpretation and expression of a neighborhood i have enjoyed for half my life. not an applied logo, or a symbol for the neighborhood. my apologies to all who it may offend while he stands at the gates to the lower haight for the next 75 years.
If you'd like to see this bunny dream become reality, click here to donate. We'll update if and when the goal is met.