Artist: Karen Cusolito & Dan Das Mann,
Title: Ecstasy
Media: Statue, Recycled Chains and Salvaged steel
Dimensions: 30 Ft. Weight 18,000 Lbs
Date: 2007
Artist Background: Karen studied at Rhode Island School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art. She worked on several public art installations in and around the Boston area before moving to San Francisco in 1996.Her art has taken many forms, from painting and mixed media to the large-scale steel sculptures she’s presently developing. She finds drawing to be the easiest and most concise form of communication and the human form a rich arena in which to explore and express emotion, intention, and challenge. Much of her work focuses on humanity and the environment and the delicate balance between the two. Karen is about to embark on a new series that studies the female form throughout history. Since 2009, she has been running American Steel Studios in Oakland, CA, which provides studio and gallery space to over 100 artists and small businesses.
"Ecstasy embodies the emotion of
passion and the posture of exaltation it can inspire. She is illuminated at
dusk by a warm light that emanates from her hands and softly glows upon her
shoulders, neck and head that is thrown back in elation."
Ecstasy was built in
2007 and first debuted on-stage at The Crucible's Fire Opera, then at Burning
Man, 2007. Since then she traveled widely: Maker Faire, 2008, and Nocturnal,
2009. Through 2011, Ecstasy was on exhibit in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. She
is part of a private collection.
This piece is included in our theme because it embodies a clear demonstration of how beautiful a body can be out of some of the most crude materials. Chains, and other various pieces of steel can be unified, and formed into a beautiful, passionate expression. This primogenial piece depicts the human body in its most literal form.
By: Jordan
By: Jordan
