ArtPrize - Sep. 23 - Oct. 8, 2009 - Grand Rapids, MI
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Artist information:
larry underwood
Chicago, il

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aRise solo footprint
aRise solo footprint
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larry underwood

Artist bio

As an artist, I wish to engage the public, not only as passive witnesses, but as co-creators in each project. Through an audience’s participation in a grand event, a work of art transcends into a shared experience, an unforgettable moment of meaning. I have helped realize projects in the United States and Europe; shipyards, airplane hangars, riverbanks and in the middle of the forest. I strive to find a way that each individual participant, every artist and audience member, can take home a shared feeling. In motivated to build larger-scale events, and attempt to overcome the restraints of ground-based works, it is my wish to make a bigger impact in the connection with a larger public, while retaining personal and intimate contact. Celebrating the line between viewer and doer has become my goal. I believe that artist and audience alike must be daring in their choices of location and level of participation.
About the work
Title: aRise

Art form: Performance

Medium: Ritual

Year created: Work not created yet

Description of work: aRise: a grand chandelier of flight and motion hanging over the city with a hot-air balloon as its core. Strings radiate out from the basket to anchor points on the ground where stations are set to give and receive helium balloons for the public. On a card, or on the balloon itself, the public is encouraged to write a wish or a prayer, the balloons rise along the guide string, join in with others until reaching the hot air balloon where they’re cut free to float off, uninhibited into the heavens. On a clear night, they mix with the stars; on overcast nights they create their own constellations traveling across the sky. Somewhere in another part of the city you might see your wish floating by above, or follow along with the secret wish of another. Connecting and creating community over the entire city, we strive to set free the spirit and allow each and everyone at the event a chance to float on a cloud, shuffle off the monotony of gravity and let their spirit rise like a balloon.

Technical details
Linear wall space needed: n/a
Total square feet needed: 400 sq. ft.
Additional considerations
Audio/video needed: No
Electrical needed: No
Lighting needed: No
Internet access needed: No
Ground floor access needed: No
Indoor space needed: No
Outdoor space needed: Yes
Immanuel Lutheran Church larry underwood is showing at:
Immanuel Lutheran Church
2 Michigan NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Venue location

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Artist resume