Claes and Coosje had us make four (4) Shuttlecocks to surround the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO. They were all at different orientations to the horizon. There were three kinds of feathers sculpted uniquely by Claes himself which we had to mold off of. The surface was enormously bumpy and textured, so to get the parts out of the molds we made silicone molds. There were nine (9) feathers per Shuttlecock and two (2) sides to each feather which made seventy-two (72) feather sides. We had feathers everywhere all over MRI.
We installed this work of art on site ourselves, with the help of the Nelson Atkins employees.
Alfred Lippincott is on the left, John Merrifield is in the middle, and Claes is standing on the right.
Claes and Coosje were going to have a big show of their pieces at the Gugenhiem Museum in NYC. The Q and the Eraser would be there, so they had us make a fifth Shuttlecock of soft fabric to hang over the railing and stretch across the vaulted ceiling, as a center piece to the show. Opening night was a wonderful soiree, and the show hugely successful.