Ruminant

Harvest Park - 265 Railroad St

Ruminant (The Grand Masticator) is a harvesting combine clad in 34 agriculturally themed, back lit stained glass panels.  Americans for the Arts selected Ruminant as one of the most compelling public art pieces in the US for 2013.

A tribute to agriculture, farming and food, Ruminant is also an anthropomorphic beacon of contemplation and an intricate play on words and concepts.  Its creator, artist Karl Unnasch explains: "Just as food goes through several chewings and other processes as it is picked and broken down by cattle, so does the harvest as it is gathered and processed by a combine, or art as it is pondered and enjoyed by its viewer.  We are ruminants of visual language in the same manner as a cow is of its feed or a combine of its crop."

Originally a temporary installation along the annual Fermentation Fest's Farm/Art DTour in 2013, Ruminant resonated so strongly that a group of locals organized to acquire the piece for the City.  A vacant lot was selected as a site and converted into what is now known as Harvest Park. Ruminant was publicly dedicated to the City in October 2014 and became an instant landmark.