“Soaring: The Rules of Engagement” was installed in about 1 600 sq. feet of a renovated garage which now houses ARTPACE, a Foundation for Contemporary Art in San Antonio, Texas.
There were several elements. A brief description follows:
“Soar” a twelve foot long anthropomorphic “bear” figure made of red oil clay to partially simulate chocolate. The clay is laid over a wire mesh armature and lit from within with red/orange neon so that all body orifices glow from this light. The facial features and the toes are very human. “Soar” is raised about 4″ off the floor so that it also appears to float on this red/orange light.
“Here”, “Grit”, “So”, “Desire”, “Please”, and “Hey” (left to right), are all neon signs depicting hands with facial expressions. They line the walls of the room and refer to our first language of social interaction. They are also complementary in color and substance, illuminating the beast at the center of the room.
“Buck” and “Doe” Angels made from $1 bills are suspended in the area between “Soar” and the “Neighborhoods” on the ceiling. These are male and female figurative shells with no heads, hands, feet, or bodies inside. They are flying/ swimming/ falling through this space.
“Neighborhoods”: one being Apollonian and one being Dionysian are attached upside down to the ceiling and illuminated by spotlights from the floor (not shown). This also casts the shadows of the viewing audience into the “Neighborhoods”.
There are also illuminated cases (to the left and the right) which display small bronze castings of all these elements.
Ken D. Little, 1995
