Giant Ants Are Coming to Town
Posted Courtesy of The Post and Courier (http://www.charleston.net)
BY Adam Ferrell
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Ten, 7-foot leggy sculptures will be on exhibit in Marion Square as part of Piccolo Spoleto, and some of them will show up at community events throughout the city of Charleston.
They're works of art with a message. People who check out the ants can pick up information on how to prevent child sexual abuse.
Charleston artist Jeffrey Kennedy is creating the colorful insects for the local nonprofit organization From Darkness to Light, which exists to raise awareness about the issue and about organizations that help abuse victims. The ants are next in a steady line of vehicles From Darkness to Light uses to bring the subject of child sexual abuse into the public consciousness.
But the bright, shiny kid magnets are a far cry from the sharp, pointed public service announcements the organization has used thus far.
One billboard targets teen pregnancy by picturing a pregnant teen on a swing under the words: "Stop adults from having sex with children."
"The whole program is evolving," said Anne Lee, the organization's president and CEO. "We want to use mechanisms like ants because it's a fun, whimsical way to make the issue more approachable."
So why ants?
Lee saw the pint-size version of the ants in Kennedy's studio a while back. He's made close to 700 of the critters over the past two years. Each one is custom-made, and he's done one in about every theme imaginable. Lee saw a connection between strong little ants, which carry one grain at a time, and the one-person-at-a-time awareness campaign for child sexual abuse.
"She asked me what I thought about making a 7-foot ant, and I said, 'That works great for me,' " said Kennedy, who is predominantly a painter. The gigantic notion came from the life-size cow sculptures that have been popular in cities across the country for the last few years. But whereas the cows are formed in molds, the ants are each crafted from scratch.
"You could probably build a flying saucer with stuff from Home Depot," Kennedy joked. "The sky's the limit with me. Give me a few days and I'll come up with something."
Kennedy spends about 20 hours on each ant. His home looks
like a toy factory's assembly line. In one corner hangs
three connected wood-and-foam spheres, a legless skeleton.
Next to that is another with its metal pipe legs attached.
From there, the work happens in the back yard. He coats the
body with fiberglass, sands it down, paints each ant and
names it. He's finished three so far - Army Ant, Ant Van
Gogh and the plAnt. The rest will come to life by early May.
The sculptures Kennedy has trademarked "Jeffreyants" will be
auctioned to the public on From Darkness to Light's
Web site during the three weeks they're on display. From
each ant's back will protrude a removable, foot-tall disk
with the acronym "D2L" painted in black and white on one
side and the buyer's name or logo on the other.
From Darkness to Light will have a national presence
by next month, and the ants may follow.
"We anticipate that the ants are going to march across the
whole country," Lee said. "Like everything else, we're
starting in Charleston."
Kennedy hopes to get requests for custom-made giant ants
from the public, too.
"I can see them in someone's garden or in the lobby of an
office building," he said.
To learn more about From Darkness to Light, visit
www.darkness2light.org. To check out Kennedy's art, visit
www.jeffreyants.com.
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