The last few months, our lives have been possessed by a unique partnership and a 18′ tall sculpture.
In case you have not seen the tweets, the facebook or G+ posts- or seen me with stain and paint embedded on my hands- we are now neck deep in The Infernal Device. This Art Prize entry is a unique partnership between three groups of artists- Todd Cahill, builder of the windmill, is based out of Massachusetts. Ogre and I are the builders/creators of the body of the Machine, and responsible for all of the structural, engineering bits. Myke Amend, Steampunk artist extraordinare, is creating a 21 foot long mural on a 7 sided wooden “drum” that will rotate in the center of the sculpture. There are tons of pictures of the building of the machine/sculpture on the Infernal Device Facebook page.
After months of creative stretching and hard physical labor, we need your support. there are several things you can do to help make this an amazing success.
1. If you are in Grand Rapids, come out on Friday Sept 16 and help us move this pieces of the sculpture from the warehouse to the Gerald R Ford Museum, which will be our venue for the duration of Art Prize. We will need some extra hands both to load and to unload and do final assembly on site. Drop me a note or comment if you are able and willing.
2. If you are within driving distance of Grand Rapids, come and vote for our entry. Ogre and I will be there in person Opening Weekend ( Sept 24- 25), but Myke Amend will be there every day. We are looking for volunteers to plan/organize some Steampunk parties or outings around the Device as well. Votes that are entered between Sept 21- 28 will determine the Top 10 who are announced on Sept 29. We need as many votes as possible during that first week to continue in the contest. You can register online to vote, but you must visit an Art Prize venue in person to vote. There is more information on the Art Prize Voting page.
3. If you want to support our entry and efforts, but are too far away to visit and vote, you can donate cash to help cover costs. Between now and the end of ArtPrize, we will have 10 nights of Hotels ( many thanks to the Grand Rapids Radisson for an artist discount rate) , at least 3 rounds trips- some while hauling the trailer and food enough for survival. If we win, we will be able to recover material costs, but if we do not, we will have invested several thousands of dollars out of pocket on top of everything else. If you would like to see us continue to build cool art, consider dropping some cash in the hat. The best news is that we are sponsored by the Kokomo Art Association, so we are officially a 501(c)3 and all donations are tax deductible.
- We are set up on TweetDonate: Just Tweet : “$XX TweetDonate to @roguepuppet” and you will get an @ tweet to a donation link. Be sure to put the amount in place of the XX.
- Donate privately & securely via paypal. (see the button above)
- Send a check: make it payable to Kokomo Art Association / in memo: for Infernal Device
to: Infernal Device c/o Brauns 3385 Sycamore Lane, Kokomo IN 46901.
Most importantly? Get out and enjoy some art- if you can not get to Art Prize, find your nearest gallery, museum or college exhibition. Take a few hours and let the art seep into your soul .
Updated NOTE: 9/12 updated: working with some GR installers/distributors and the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association… all great folks, and hoepful that by eod tomorrow something will work out. Will update with the names of our helpers when it is finalized. [that our Solar Panel Sponsor is NOT going to come through. I will have to buy solar panels ASAP. This is either $600 we are looking to raise, or accepting loaners. If you are a solar panel company and want free PR, we will borrow and give back, with option to buy if we win.]
