Kyle Fokken - Interview
What do airplanes have to do with dogs? Well, according to sculptor Kyle Fokken, plenty. In fact, watching a boxer-terrier mix chasing rabbits was his inspiration for creating Spotted Monoplane. “It’s a smaller version of a flying dog,” he says, laughing as he remembers the scene. “It was so funny, watching the dog flying through the air, legs stretched out, trying to get that rabbit!”
Fokken says this fun, playful, whimsical piece of artwork was a good way to represent who he is as an artist. “There’s a light and dark side to everybody,” he explains. “This represents the bright and fun side of me. With Spotted Monoplane, it makes me think of my career as a sculptor and it takes me away from where I am. I can visualize myself flying away.”
Fokken says he hopes viewers who pass through the Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center SculptureWalk think the same thing. “Being in a hospital can be tough,” he says. “I hope this fun piece will take them away; to a happier place.”
Spotted Monoplane, a small representation of a larger-scale version, stands six inches high and is made out of wood and metal. “It’s a wooden form,” Fokken says. “And I added copper fittings. There are so many layers of paint and lacquer on it, and then I scuff it with sandpaper to get that ‘antiquey’ look. It also develops depth.”
The piece took Fokken about 10 hours to create and is very typical of his work. “My work is based on a love of antique toys as viewed from a modern perspective. We are naturally drawn to relics of days gone past. In my artwork, I fuse this nostalgia with ‘visionary’ art - art often made by people using scrap material and rough construction. Like these artists, I'm not a ‘junk sculptor’ because my focus is not on the found object itself, but on how I can use objects to fulfill my vision. I employ this technique as a metaphor implying the bond between generations ‘making do’ with available materials and the cultural legacy of values and ideals.”
Fokken continues, “In my work, I examine the relationship between parents and their children—how we pass down our values and prejudices from one generation to the next. I am exploring this through artist toys and through my own family history—how I entertained myself as a child, how I relate to my parents and to my son and daughter. Ultimately, it’s about and how our society passes its culture to the successive generations.”
Fokken says while the “circus-y” look is very much him, he also does darker pieces. However, “Once I'm done making one of my larger, heavier or darker pieces, these are bright, colorful and cheery and kinda help me bounce back while still letting me try out new ideas.”
