Bus Wrap #4: “Where’s the Ball”
The Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation and the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority unveiled artist Larassa Kabel’s public art bus wrap on Friday, June 24 at the Des Moines Arts Festival. The project is part of the Public Art Foundation’s Project Spaces initiative, which places compelling, temporary works of art in highly accessible and visible public spaces. Artist Larassa Kabel’s design is the fourth bus wrap in the series.
“A transit bus is a challenging format for any artist, yet it is a perfect fit for Larassa Kabel who transforms the intimate practice of drawing into a monumental scale. She titled her commission for the bus “Where’s the Ball?” and it is a whimsical and stunning creation,” said M. Jessica Rowe, director of the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation.
Conceptually, my art usually falls into emotionally challenging work. However, because of where this art will be displayed and who will be encountering it, I didn't think anyone needed to deal with big issues when they were commuting. There is enough life and death in the act of driving without seeing a horse fall past your window. Instead, I wanted to have the bus be an art ambassador of joy, something that comes up unexpectedly but brings a spark of happiness. To this end, I played with different ways that art can bring joy beauty and comedy. "Where's the Ball [has a] great potential experience especially when I imagine the weirdness of the eyes scaled up to bus size. I think the large print format would amplify the image nicely. [The] design [is] executed as colored pencil drawings; "Where's the Ball" in black and white on gray paper, with a complimentary stand alone image for the back and front of the bus.
Larassa Kabel