Big plastic sculpture will keep California music fans cool

Next week's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in India, Calif., will feature a huge plastic sculpture that sounds like it will be worth a visit. According to Los Angeles Times Culture Monster arts blogger David Ng, the work is titled "Elastic Plastic Sponge," and was designed by Ball-Nogues Studio in Echo Park, in collaboration with students at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Check out Ng's blog post for a photo rendering of the work. Benjamin Ball, the lead designer on the project, told Ng that the installation will be 250 feet long and 25 feet wide, and is made almost entirely of plastic tubing. The sculpture features a misting system that will spray water on concert goers who need relief from the desert heat. The sculpture really will be "elastic," too -- Ball said it will be reconfigured into different shapes during the festival. Thanks to our long-time correspondent Roger Renstrom for tipping me off to this cool -- and cooling -- piece of plastic artwork.