Larry and Debby Kline artists and provocateurs – installation, performances, and other works
Projects and Works
The Candy Store
The Candy Store acknowledges the trend toward self-diagnosis and treatment. Due to rising healthcare costs by providing medicinal candy. This starter pack of inconsumable medicinal talismans is a welcome addition to the panoply of healthcare choices and is guaranteed to meet or exceed FDA standards for safety or effectiveness.
Earth Igloo for Jerusalem
Built atop the Museum on the Seam over the Passover and Easter holidays, Earth Igloo for Jerusalem reflects its surroundings, a dome in a city of domes, and is an ironic mud structure in a future sans ice. The mud is from the region of the Dead Sea, a body of water that […]
The Great Passover Purchase (The New Maxwell House Haggadah)
Larry grew up (as have many Jewish Americans) using the Maxwell House Passover Haggadah. This publication was actually used to reinvent coffee as a kosher food in order to boost coffee sales at holiday time. Joseph Jacobs, the owner of Maxwell House brand, hired an Orthodox rabbi […]
The War Ain’t Over Till the Paperwork’s Done
This work consists of 95 hand-made paper tanks in pentagonal formation. The work alludes to the “paper tiger,” a phrase used to describe an aggressive yet ineffectual military power. The vision of paper tanks in various states of decay also refers to a recent disclosure of massive misappropriation of taxpayer funds as documented in the Pentagon’s publication of “Internal Controls Over Payments Made in Iraq, Kuwait and Egypt.”
PEACES
PEACES documents the creation and destruction of peace in 3 minutes and 32 seconds. The accompanying video shows the artists carving a granite slab and the performance culminates in the stone’s destruction. It is a metaphor for the effort involved in peacemaking and the fragility of that peace, but we were also surprised by the […]
Toxic Cocktails
Toxic Cocktails Ceramic angel swizzle sticks Toxic Cocktails is comprised of dozens of bone-like bisque ceramic angel-topped swizzle sticks assembled in the form of a human skeleton, resembling an archaeological or forensic study. Each angel has been inscribed with the name of one of twenty-two medications, selected by the artists at random, that have been […]
Passages: Luminarias and Tears, for La Casa del Tunel, Tijuana, Mexico
Since La Casa Del Tunel was once a smuggling tunnel, we chose to honor the memory of those who either died trying to cross the border or made the crossing but lost contact with family in Mexico. These luminaries are in keeping with Mexican tradition and candles may be lit in memory of loved ones.
Welcome Mats
Welcome Mats Plastic, paint La Casa Del Tunel (Tijuana, B.C.) once housed the entrance to a smuggling tunnel and is directly across the street from a now defunct hotel still remembered through music and folklore as a hub for human smuggling. The tunnel, located in the lower level of the La Casa, was filled with […]
California Redemption Machine
California Redemption Machine Gumball vending Machine, ceramic and glazes The California Redemption Machine is both a play on the ‘redemption value’ associated with recycling and the search for personal value and purpose. Each gumball features a religious symbol from various parts of the world and historical time frames. More arcane symbols of ancient Egypt and […]
Forty Acres
The Klines captured forty acres on the Bonneville Salt Flats using GPS and Bare Bones (their M1 mobility scooter/tank), and subsequently mined salt on the land formerly held by the BLM. The work responds to the vast mining operations which dominate the landscape in this region. Forty Acres was created during a residency at The Center for Land Use Interpretation’s facilities at Wendover, Utah.
The Electric Fields of California
The Electric Fields of California is a series of installations that deal with health and environmental concerns surrounding electrical transmission and bring a new perspective to the western landscape. The piece consists of a series of outdoor light sculptures, using ambient electrical fields beneath electrical power lines to illuminate fluorescent light bulbs.
The Game at Hand
The Game at Hand addresses America’s current global conflicts, and is a poignant commentary on US involvement in both hot and cold wars in the Middle East. At a distance, this piece appears to be simply a beautifully hand-made chess set. Closer inspection of the set, however, reveals the futility of this game.
Periscopic Tree for Homeland Security
The Klines captured forty acres on the Bonneville Salt Flats using GPS and Bare Bones (their M1 mobility scooter/tank), and subsequently mined salt on the land formerly held by the BLM. The work responds to the vast mining operations which dominate the landscape in this region. Forty Acres was created during a residency at The Center for Land Use Interpretation’s facilities at Wendover, Utah.
Maquette for Memorial for a Perilous Journey: Running to Racism
The figures in this piece are appropriated from California highway signage intended to indicate the crossing of undocumented immigrants, and are caricatures of a Mexican family. The final version of this piece is intended to be floated down the Tijuana River to the Pacific Ocean to be sailed Northward and placed on land as a monument to those who have perished in the crossing.
A Democratic Challenge to the Republic or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Vote, 2001
To produce this piece, the artists attempted to auction their Presidential votes on eBay for the 2000 General Election. The auction was in protest of massive corporate and private contributions to political campaigns, and the resulting conflicts of interest that render democratic ideals impotent.
BE NICE
The BE NICE project has developed as a response to the controversy surrounding the removal of the ten commandments from the rotunda of the Supreme Court of Montgomery, Alabama in 2004. The artists intend to seek permission to install an edition of this sculpture in several courthouses around the nation. The pieces will be installed at the discretion of the participating institutions, featuring either the tablets alone or the tablets accompanied by a security camera and a video monitor, a reminder to viewers that they are being watched.
Maquette for Soledad Solution
Soledad Solution addresses the well-publicized issues surrounding the use of public land for religious displays, specifically in San Diego county, by transforming the significance of the symbol of the cross. The artists plan to lease the land surrounding one of the city’s prominently-displayed crosses in order to create this installation.
Magic Wand for Lost Causes
Magic Wand for Lost Causes The gold portion of this piece is a United States navy issue radar reflector from 1945. It was to be affixed to a one-man life raft for the purpose of locating a soldier lost at sea. It seemed to us a fairly remote possibility of finding someone via radar with […]