LOCAL Houston | The City Guide JANUARY 2015 | Page 46

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Local January 2015_FINAL_002houston 12/18/14 4:16 PM Page 46

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...IS FOR QUIRKY
And it doesn’t get quirkier than our dear old muddy waters, Buffalo Bayou, having its own
bubble, burp, gurgle, gas button. Although not much of a secret anymore seeing that the
button (located downtown beneath the Preston Street Bridge) has its own Yelp page, is
doing exactly as Dean Ruck hoped – creating conversation and mystery. Commissioned by
Central Houston Civic Improvement Inc., Ruck’s Big Bubble is actually art. “I didn’t want to
announce it as a piece of art. It’s an occurrence, an event, a happening. The button itself is
up there unannounced, and so it creates a real curiosity to people that come across it – it’s
just a red button. Do I push it or don’t I?”*
by Carla Valencia de Martinez | Photography by Batli Joselevitz

*quote from http://www.houstontx.gov/municipalart/Big-Bubble

46 L O C A L | january 15