Art Production Fund and FriendsWithYou Unveil ‘Little Cloud’ Sculpture at The Street

The sculpture has been installed at The Street in Chestnut Hill, MA.

 A cloud has descended upon The Street.

The 10-foot fiberglass sculpture “Little Cloud” — a smiling, Cumulus cloud — is the latest public art initiative from Art Production Fund. The sculpture is located at outdoor shopping center The Street in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and is the latest work of FriendsWithYou, a collaborative art duo. The L.A.-based artists Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval 3rd have become known for incorporating cheery symbols in their colorful experiential installations, such as last year’s “Super Moon” in Seokchon Lake in Seoul.

“How we view artwork and the world in general…universally, it’s to really embody everything with a soul,” Sandoval says. “[We] imagine that things aren’t just objects to be consumed, but they’re actual living things.” Adds Borkson, “Almost every piece that we make has this one rule that it does have some kind of spirit inside of it.”

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The artists often work with the cloud emblem, which they’ve implemented in large-scale murals, video projects, light installations, and even onto Moncler jackets, as part of FWY’s collaboration with the fashion label earlier this year.

“The cloud is a very warm and sweet and light carrier of this kind of message,” Borkson says. “It’s something that is very approachable to people, no matter who it is, and where they’re coming from. It’s a symbol that everybody knows,” he continues. “People just have a very optimistic projection toward the symbol, which is what we aspire to do. There’s not a lot of art that is optimistic or that is [a] positive projection, and we always aspire to have that positive projection.”

 While simple in nature, the artists hope that the sculpture inspires visitors to the outdoor shopping center to interact. Their work, which draws comparisons to the post-pop cartoon quality of Takashi Murakami and the neo-geometric nature of Jeff Koons, is certainly Instagrammable.

“We’re really trying to make the world our gallery,” Sandoval says. “[We’re] trying to create meaning, create moments of shared interest. Art Production Fund is very much in line with our philosophy and how we always view art.”

“We really feel that art needs to reach people and this is a really good way for us to do that,” Borkson continues. “I think that there is a level of interaction, which you don’t find with a lot of very strict traditional gallery settings, and we always try to really play around with that.”

Art Production Fund executive director Casey Fremont and director of operations Kathleen Lynch joined the artists for the sculpture’s unveiling on Aug. 1.

“The work of FriendsWithYou is perfect in the public realm, it’s accessible while having a powerful message,” Fremont says. “We’ve already witnessed the positivity and joy that Little Cloud is bringing to the public,and look forward to so much more.”

The sculpture is on view at The Street through December.

Resource :http://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/art-production-fund-friendswithyou-little-cloud-sculpture-the-street-10955906/