Around The World With Artist Kurt Perschke's RedBall Project

Kurt Perschke's RedBall Project, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago. Photo by Fuzzy Gerdes.

It's a giant beach ball...it's a weather balloon...it's RedBall. We feel the Superman allusion is warranted, as RedBall, a globe-spanning public art project by New York-based artist Kurt Perschke, maintains something of a superhuman presence. The first RebBall installation took place in St. Louis back in 2001 as a commission from Arts in Transit. With the money from that commission, Perschke took it to Barcelona. Sydney soon beckoned, and pretty soon it RedBall was rolling along, inflating its way into the hearts, imaginations and urban spaces of cities ranging from Chicago and Toronto to Taipei and Abu Dhabi.

For Perschke its not so much about the 15-foot inflatable ball itself, but the potential it represents. "The true power of the project is what it can create for those who experience it," he explains. "It opens a doorway to imagine what if?" Angela Melkisethian offers a similar take in Sculpture magazine: "RedBall's occupation of the spaces that are taken for granted briefly foregrounds the invisible backdrop of urban life. What used to be neglected space becomes a realm of possibilities."

RedBall's next destination is the United Kingdom, where it will tour throughout June. We'd love to experience its spherical red goodness right here in Brooklyn. It would fit in great alongside the epic work that's emerged from 3rd Ward's own Inflatable Sculpture classes.

Meanwhile, here's more from Perschke on RedBall:

-- John Ruscher

See Murakami's "Ego" on Display (and Fashion Your Reaction at 3rd Ward)

Murakami's most recent exhibition, "Ego," comes on the heels of two major retrospectives at MoCA and Versailles, both extremely well attended shows, as we're sure this next one will be--even if fans have to travel all the way to Doha, Qatar to see it. There are many familiar faces in his bright and shiny anime wonderland (or nightmare, depending on who you ask); the flowerballs, mushrooms and bunny-suited characters are back, appearing both in 3D and in Murakami's signature superflat paintings. 

Those looking to see something new won't have to search hard as a 328-foot-long painting wraps around three walls of the exhibition space. It's apparently a response to the recent natural disasters that have hit Japan, which explains its size as well as its other monstrous qualities. But before you feast your eyes on three walls of an acid trip gone wrong, you have to make your way around Murakami's gigantic ass--no joke. A 20-foot-tall inflatable self-portrait "greets" visitors as they enter. According to Murakami, the exhibition is "a dialogue with one's own ego," a conversation that seems to have soured over the years. 

For those who think they can take on Murakami's expansive paintings and gigantic (inflatable) "Ego," just so happens we've got one or two classes for that. A handful of painting classes are still open as well as the ever-instantly-filled-up "Inflatable Sculpture" class.

We've got a feeling you might have a healthier relationship with your "Ego" then good ol' Murakami. Why not find out?

-- Perrin Drumm