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