Client: Oklahoma Historical Society and Tulsa Arts District

Overview

Power of Pop is located in the Oklahoma Historical Society’s new museum, OKPOP, that shares the state’s pop culture artifacts and collections. The sculpture draws its inspiration and color palette from comic books and concert posters. Thousands of handmade glass spheres evoke the superimposed ink dots that the Ben-Day printing process employed to create color images in vintage comic books. The overall shape is a multi-directional crossroads of culture suspended in the atrium where it is visible from outside the building and from many points within. Computer-controlled LED lighting within the glass spheres creates animated sequences of light moving through the sculpture and radiating outwards like explosions of pop culture.

Goals

The new Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP) is dedicated to the incredible history and creativity of Oklahoma’s people and the influence of those artists on popular culture around the world. The underlying theme of the museum is “Crossroads of Creativity” and stories include music, movies, radio, television, pop art, literature, theater, comics, humor, and Route 66.

OKPOP offers a significant opportunity for dynamic and visually impactful artwork. The goal for the public art piece we created was for a visually impactful sculpture located in the interior lobby entrance space. The glitz speaks to the excitement associated with Oklahoma’s creatives and their impact on popular culture and the committee requested engaging and interactive artwork that is contemporary and relevant to the overarching themes of the museum.

Additional Information

Date: 2022 ​ Location: The Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP), Tulsa, OK Dimensions: 22’2” Wide x 23’10” High Medium: Glass spheres, stainless steel, LED lighting, electronics