Every year, folks travel from far and wide watch this giant pencil get sharpened [Video]

John Higgins likes to think of the six-metre-tall pencil on his front lawn as a piece of pop art.

“When you think of pop art, you think Andy Warhol or Claes Odenberg. I mean, these are these iconic artists. They take a simple object in bold shape and colours, and it’s fascinating how humans relate to it, ” he told As It Happens guest host Stephanie Skenderis. 

“That’s exactly what this is.”

Once a year, the massive piece of pop art becomes an interactive community art installation. Hundreds — or sometimes even thousands — of people make their way to Higgins’ house in Minneapolis to watch the giant pencil get sharpened with a giant pencil sharpener. 

“It’s fun. It’s joyful. There’s no agenda. It’s not a commercial event. There’s not a ticket or anything,” Higgins said. “But through word of mouth, I think, people come and they really have fun.”

The giant pencil was once a giant tree

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