The KISS as collaborative performance art

The KISS.
Kate Kaman & Joel Erland, 2008.
Cement, rebar & chicken wire.

This monolithic concrete sculpture weighing close to a thousand pounds began as an exercise- an enlargement of a master copy. The Kiss is a collaboration with my fiance Joel Erland; a fan of Brancusi ever since he studied sculpture at the American School of Bucharest (in Brancusi's homeland of Romania). I, too, feel a distinct dialogue with the sculptor of the original piece. The Kiss is a part of my artistic heritage because one of my teachers studied under a student of Auguste Rodin (who perhaps more than anyone else in the art world first recognized the genius of Constantin Brancusi). As we sculpted it, I began to notice a change in meaning achieved by the simple change of scale. People walking by the studio would pretend to worship it, and leave "gifts" at its feet. It was amusing how the sculpture took on a personality of its own. Always in jest, the idea persisted: through this change of scale, the sculpture seemed larger than life, invoking a primitive awe. Spurred on by this idea, some collaborators and I put together this provocative performative artwork dedication for the sculpture:


The performance was very well received. We were informed it was the very first time live chickens have EVER performed at PennDesign.

Special thanks to Steve Hoke and Jay Beck for drumming, and to Ryan Anderson, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Wendy Tai, and Ashley Neal for helping to make the artwork a success.