DISCLAIMER: this might make you feel lazy.

This is what 100,000 toothpicks looks like

Thirty-five years ago artist Scott Weaver began work on an elaborate sculpture. This insanely complex kinetic work of art, Rolling Through the Bay, is comprised of multiple “tours” that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco. Recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity, Weaver continues to modify and expand the sculpture even today. He estimates he’s spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world:

“I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.”

Rolling Through the Bay can be seen in the flesh at the American Visionary Art Museum through September 2012.

-Krista

(Photo credit: Flickr)