Family Gallery Guide Kansas City Sculpture Park
Welcome to the Nelson-Atkins! Today, you will look at sculptures inside the Museum’s Bloch Building and outside in the Kansas City Sculpture Park. Along the way, you will see other works of art. Take your time, enjoy yourself, and remember that you don’t have to see everything in one visit!
In April 2011, the Museum installed a sculpture called Ferment, by world renowned contemporary artist Roxy Paine. Before he created this very large sculpture, the artist explored his idea through a series of drawings and even created a scale model (a smaller version) so that he could understand what the final version would look like.
Why can’t we touch or climb on the sculptures? Dirt on our shoes and zippers, snaps and buttons on our clothes can scratch the sculptures.
Ferment
Oil and salt from our fingers will eat away at the surface of the sculptures over time.
How tall is it? 56 feet tall
Please help protect the art by treating it with care!
View from inside
How much does it weigh? 20,000–22,000 pounds What is it made of ? The work is constructed of large and small stainless steel pipe sections that have been carefully fitted and welded together.
View outside
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Q+A
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Where did it come from? It was welded in sections at the artist’s studio in Treadwell, New York, and then transported here for final assembly.
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Is it a tree? Roxy Paine calls his tree-like sculptures “dendroids.” He is interested in the branching (dendrite) structures in nature, such as plants, river deltas and our bodies. Does the artist create other kinds of art? Yes! Roxy Paine is also interested in machines and the relationship between technology and art-making.
3 Roxy Paine. Scumak No. 2, 2001. Aluminum, computer, conveyor, electronics, extruder, stainless steel, polyethylene, Teflon. 90 x 276 x 73 inches. Copyright the artist. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai.
Tom’s Cubicle 1 Untitled 2 Fountain 3 Ferment 4
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Sheep Piece 5 One Sun/34 Moons 6
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Are you ready to have fun exploring sculpture? Open the guide to begin!
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View from i n s i d e
Find It
View outside
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Describe It
Imagine it
Tom’s Cubicle
Standing in Bloch Lobby, look through a window to the left of the Info Desk. You will see Tom’s Cubicle, by Alexander Calder.
What words would you use to describe this work? (large, flat, curvy, black, etc.)
If this were an animal, how many legs would it have?
Calder is internationally known for creating largescale mobiles and stabiles. This is an example of a stabile. It is constructed of metal plates fastened together with nuts and bolts. The playful shape of this work may be read as an imaginary animal.
Can you find the nuts and bolts that hold the shapes together? How many can you see?
Would this animal be still, or in motion?
Joel Shapiro creates sculptures that suggest the human figure. The bronze forms in this example resemble upright arms, a torso and legs that seem to be in motion. The artist first built this work out of wooden planks. Then he cast it in bronze. If you look closely, you can see an imprint of the wood grain in the metal!
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If you could touch this work, what would it feel like? Compare the height of this sculpture to your own height. If this sculpture were a person, would it be a child or an adult?
If this sculpture came to life, how would it move? (Fast or slow? Clumsy or graceful?)
Look carefully at the work, and then try to strike a similar pose!
Close your eyes for a moment and listen to the sounds of the water.
This sculpture is unique because it begins inside the Museum building, and continues outside.
Next, move as if you were the sculpture and show the kind of motion you imagined above.
Fountain
Travel down the gallery walk inside the Museum’s Bloch Building until you reach the Isamu Noguchi Sculpture Court. Listen! Do you hear water? Fountain, by Isamu Noguchi is art that makes beautiful sounds! Fountain is composed of two sculpted stones. They are similar in size but slightly different in form. The top surface of one stone is concave (curved in), while the surface of the other is convex (rounded). Water flows over the tops and sides of Fountain, reflecting light and creating a peaceful sound as it reaches the bed of river rocks below.
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Do you notice anything different?
Untitled
Exit the Bloch Building through the glass doors located near the gallery walk (to the right of the information desk). Once you are outside, turn right and locate Joel Shapiro’s Untitled in the East Sculpture Terrace.
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Lie on your side on the padded bench, and then look sideways at the piece. (Alternative: Kneel down and look up at the piece.) Look at the spaces above and in-between the shapes.
Why do you think this work is called a “stabile?” (What is a mobile?)
Try IT
What colors do you see? How does the water affect the appearance of the work? (light shimmering and reflecting off the stone, etc.)
Imagine that you are standing somewhere else. Where might you be?
Look through the window to see that the pebbles continue. Now go out into the Park (Lens 4 exit), turn left and look again at Fountain from the other side.
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View from i n s i d e
Find It
View outside
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Find the places where the sections were welded together.
This extraordinary sculpture was made especially for the Kansas City Sculpture Park! It is made of large and small stainless steel pipes that were carefully cut and welded together. A concrete platform supports the structure and stainless steel rods hold it in place.
How do these look different from the sections in-between?
Like Roxy Paine, Henry Moore found inspiration for his art in the natural world. Moore named this work Sheep Piece because at his home in England the sheep rubbed against it, and the lambs liked playing around it. This sculpture is made of bronze; a metal produced by blending copper and tin. Over time, the elements have changed the surface of the work, giving it a deep “patina” or finish.
If you came upon this object without knowing that it was a sculpture, how would you describe it?
What would this sculpture look like if the artist had placed it upside down? What if it had been painted red or some other color?
Squat on the ground and pretend that you are a seedling (a young tree.) Rise slowly and reach for the sky, using your arms and fingers as branches.
Using your index (pointer) finger, draw a line in the air that defines the shape of this piece. What kind of shape did you make?
Imagine that this sculpture is located in a meadow, where the grass is allowed to grow tall.
Some areas are smooth, while others are rough. How does this affect the color of each area?
How would this change your experience of it?
Look at the top surface of the Sun. Is it flat, concave (curved in) or convex (rounded)?
Describe how this piece might be different if it were called “One Moon, 34 Stars.”
Pretend that you are a lamb and run around this piece! Get down on your hands and knees, and look through the space between the two large forms. Describe the view that you see.
One Sun/ 34 Moons
From inside the Bloch Building, travel to the Plaza Level, where the Creative Café and revolving doors are located. Through the glass you can see One Sun/34 Moons, by Walter De Maria in the center of the North plaza outside.
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Try IT
Sheep Piece
Just beyond the Roxy Paine sculpture and down the hill, you will find Sheep Piece, by Henry Moore.
Imagine it
Ferment
Follow the grey brick path past Noguchi Terrace and up the hill until you reach Ferment, by Roxy Paine.
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Describe It
This installation is related to the cycles of day and night, the seasons and the heavens. The rectangular Sun is covered with shiny gold leaf to reflect the actual sunlight. The water reflects the clouds overhead. At night, white neon lights surrounding each of the 34 Moons glow mysteriously through the water of the reflecting pool.
What color is the “sky”? Water is a part of this installation. Where else have you seen water today? (Fountain, by Isamu Noguchi)
Look for the stairs to the left of the revolving doors (Plaza Level, Bloch Lobby) Climb 15 stairs, and then look out at the De Maria sculpture. Does the Sun shape appear different from this perspective? How many Moons can you see?
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45th & Oak, Kansas City, Missouri nelson-atkins.org 816.751.1ART
Funding for this Family Guide has been generously provided by the R.A. Long Foundation. Programs in the Kansas City Sculpture Park are generously funded by the Hall Family Foundation. Image Captions Background, first spread: Roxy Paine, American (b.1966). Drawing for Ferment (detail), 2009. India ink on paper, 41 x 33 1/4 inches. Copyright the artist. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York/ Shanghai. 1. Alexander Calder, American (1898–1976). Tom’s Cubicle, 1967. Painted steel. 10 feet x 12 feet x 7 feet. Gift of the Friends of Art, F69-7. 2. Joel Shapiro, American (b. 1941). Untitled, 1991; cast 1992. Bronze, ed. 2/4. 6 feet 6 1/8 inches x 4 feet 11 inches x 27 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, F99-33/76. Photo by Bob Greenspan.
Throughout the year, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art offers art classes, performances and hands-on activities especially for children and families. To learn more, check out the Museum’s website at nelson-atkins.org, or call 816.751.1ART.
3. Isamu Noguchi, American (1904–1988, b. Japan). Fountain, 1987. Basalt. A: 43 1/4 inches x 4 feet 3 inches x 38 inches, B: 40 1/2 x 46 x 36 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, F99-33/72 A,B. 4. Roxy Paine, American (b. 1966). Ferment, 2010. Stainless steel, 660 x 420 inches. Purchase: acquired in honor of Martin Friedman and his critical role in the development of the Kansas City Sculpture Park through a gift from the Hall Family Foundation. Copyright the artist. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai. 5. Henry Spencer Moore, English (1898– 1986). Sheep Piece, 1971–72. Bronze. 13 feet x 19 feet x 13 feet. Lent by the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, Gift of N. Clyde Degginger, 122.2010. 6. Walter De Maria, American, b. 1935. Fabricator: A. Zahner Sheet Metal Company, American. One Sun / 34 Moons, 2002. Gilt bronze, stainless steel, reflecting pool, neon illuminated skylights. A (sun): 17 inches x 40 feet 6 5/16 inches x 33 feet 9 1/4 inches, B (pool): 134 feet 1 1/16 inches x 161 feet 1 1/4 inches x 9 inches, C (each “moon” diam): 36 inches. Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the Hall Family Foundation, 2002.6.
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Cover photo by Mark McDonald