Don Kennell & Lisa Adler have been art collaborators for many years. DKLA Design was incorporated in 2015. Don makes design drawings and leads the fabrication crew. Lisa focuses on community engagement. We make animals monumental to highlight their heroic qualities.
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Polar bears are on the front lines of climate change and are uniquely positioned to bring the arctic into human awareness.
If the Arctic disappears and polar bears lose their habitat, then we will all live in a world without wild polar bears. That feels like the worst kind of failure of the human imagination.
This public artwork will capture peoples imagination and the aspiring scope of the project is to inspire the audience to save polar bears.
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At night, the artwork will have images projected that shows scenes of melting ice & ocean habitat.
Our Plan
Our plan is to travel this message around the country to invigorate the conversation about climate change. A 36 foot polar bear is impossible to ignore. This icon will rally people together with common concerns to share a common experience. It will bring more people on board. We will partner with local groups where the sculpture is installed to increase awareness of practical solutions for reducing carbon footprint.
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We have already raised $75,000 from investors and from Burning Man. The sculpture will debut at Black Rock City in August 2018. And then the polar bear will continue its search for allies.
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We need $50,000 to complete the project. These funds will be used to purchase projectors for showing high-impact content on the sculpture at night. The funds will also be used to create professional 3D digital images from real life footage of icebergs cracking, underwater environments, weather, and other natural and human environments. We will also use the funds to add audio to these images to increase the artwork's emotional power.
Our message is that all life on the planet is interconnected. What happens to polar bears affects humans. This is a message that must be heard now.
Production on the polar bear has begun. Get in on the ground floor.
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Our designs invite the view to develop a relationship with the animal.
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We have lots of experience designing & fabricating monumental animals from car hoods.
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The sculptures include a structural steel armature. Car hoods are bolted on with original factory paint.
In the shop this week, we are getting the polar bear feet off the ground.
Next steps is to bolt on our white car hoods onto the legs of the polar bear.