Public votes on rabbit art
It was definitely rabbit season in the Vacaville Museum courtyard Saturday. These were not just any ordinary bunnies, but fiberglass ones that came in several different varieties.
These included a firefighter rabbit, a tourist rabbit, a rainbow rabbit, a black rabbit capturing the glamour of Audrey Hepburn — appropriately named “Audrey Hopburn” — and a patriotic bunny decked out in red, white and blue.
The 23 hares on display were based on the interpretations of different artists for a public art campaign known as “Jack in Back,” which began a year ago and culminated in a People’s Choice Parade, where visitors could view these creations and vote for their favorites.
Jean Cox, program chair and president of the museum’s Board of Trustees, said the public art project was a followup to a 2015 project called “We Know Jack,” which was kickstarted by local artist Lisa Rico. The premise consisted of 25 fiberglass jackrabbits, or “Jacks,” that were given unique designs by local artists, paired with sponsors and displayed throughout town before being auctioned off that summer. Some rabbits can still be seen throughout Vacaville in locales like Pure Grain Bakery and Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre.
“We decided we would like to bring Jack back,” Cox said. “We went with a smaller bunny this time but the same premise.”
The rabbits this year were designed by Roberta Ahrens, Anthony Armaz, Jeri Arata, Cristi Baron, Tara Baumann, Heidi Bekebrede, Beate Bruhl, Micahel Dadasovich, Linda Eagleton, Ellen Faris, Nadja Fitchorn, Lillian Grant, Dr. Jill Hunter, Eliz
abeth Koval Maffeo, Stephanie Lombard, Jane Loveall, Leslie Molera, Magda Nathan-Funk, Natalie Ng, Jamie Pope, Dennis Sheil, Mary Tinder and David Vasquez Spencer.
Cox said she liked the creativity of the designs.
“They were given a list of materials that would work well and a set of rules — We didn’t want anything religious or political —, but other than that, they were allowed to just come up with whatever they wanted to do,” she said.
Cox said the rabbits have been visible to the extent possible at sponsor locations over the past year. Following the stay-at-home orders stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jacks have mostly been on display in the storefront windows of sponsors, including McGuire Realty, Wasserman Travel, Pietro’s No. 1 and Western Ranch & Pet Supply.
Throughout Saturday, museum visitors walked by to gaze at all the jackrabbit designs and voted for their favorites, with the top three vote-getters to be announced later. Some artists even stopped by to visit, including Bekebrede whose daughter Grant also contributed to the show.
Bekebrede said she was working at The Artery, a gallery in downtown Davis, when she received a flier for the show. She also requested an application for Grant, who lives in Milan, and both contributed to the show.
Grant’s piece, “Technicolor,” was created as she was visiting her mother in Davis right before the stayat-home orders were enacted. Because of travel restrictions, she was unable to return to Italy right away.
“She was stuck with us for 94 days,” Bekebrede said. “She had come for just a fun visit, and I was supposed to go back with her for a visit, but instead she was trapped.”
Grant used the time to work on her design and has since returned home. “Technicolor” uses dark colors and abstract designs for a very psychedelic ‘60s tone.
Bekebrede’s rabbit, “Hazel,” was much brighter by contrast. Her design featured a set of vines stretching from the rabbit’s feet to the tips of its ears, which she said she wanted to signify the concept of plants growing.
“Each vine that starts at the bottom ends up at the very top,” she said. “It’s all acrylic paint under there. I kind of wanted to make a feminine-looking one, so I put in pastel colors.”
Bekebrede was happy the museum paid each artist for their participation.
“That meant a lot to me at the time because suddenly, all of my income was gone,” she said. “Most of the time, when artists are asked to participate in an event, we’re not paid.”
Bekebrede also liked the fact that she could take part in the same project as her daughter.
Cox hopes people have appreciated the creativity of the designs.
“What has been impressive is that the artists were so willing to step up and support a project to raise money for the museum,” she said. “The same is true of the sponsors.”
The winners will be announced on the Jack is Back and Vacaville Museum Facebook pages, and the Jacks will find new homes in an online auction alter this year.