from The Artful Mind August 2023 issue

Erika Larskaya

Drew’s early interest in the aerodynamics of flight directed his creative talents to kinetic sculpture best exemplified by his most recent works. Drew Klotz’s kinetic sculpture is made of aluminum and stainless steel and is mounted on a stand. As the kinetic sculpture revolves and dances with the wind, it choreographs its own enchanting aerial ballet.

Harryet Candee: Drew, you were a student at the Cooper Union School of Art in Manhattan. That is one excellent art school! It must be a lot different now. What from your educational experience was most gratifying and engaging for you during those years in school?

Drew Klotz: Cooper Union was a dream come true for me. It was in an environment where the students were serious about art, architecture, and engineering—learning the process of making art and having a professional artist, some very famous, teaching your class.

I loved working in the shop on projects of my own. Although I majored in sculpture, I took all the classes I could in painting, drawing, printmaking, clay, etc. One of my highlights in Cooper was creating an idea from start to finish in sculpture class. Start with the concept drawings, make a model/maquette, and finally create a full-scale sculpture.

Then came the joy and excitement of discovering kinetic sculpture. How did this unfold for you?

DK: I was always making moving/kinetic art, even before high school. When I was younger, I came from an artistic family where creativity was encouraged. We were surrounded by very creative people in our neighborhood, artists, writers, musicians, etc., and word got out that I was creating "things" in the basement so that people would bring me old machines like vacuums, can openers, and various mechanical devices, and I would take them apart for motors, switches, and gears. I would then create my kinetic sculptures and enter them in various local art shows, where I won awards and sometimes sold my work. That was encouraging.

What materials did you initially use, and as you developed more experience with a broader sense of how "things like to work," what materials did you further explore and find satisfying?

DK: When I started making sculptures, I mainly used found objects like metal and wood pieces, gears, motor switches, and whatever it took to complete a piece and make it work. As I made my sculptures, over time, I became more aware or focused on detail and the finished product. Nowadays, I enjoy making wind-activated sculptures. There are no motors, switches, or gears and no electricity to rely on. I call them green machines because I leave it up to nature to move them. The movement of my pieces is more pleasing because it is a random motion and not a mechanized cycle. I use aluminum for my sculptures because it's lightweight, easy to use, and strong.

What creative vision do you have that takes you from one project to the next?

DK: I love making kinetic sculptures that people will enjoy. It makes me happy. A fascination with moving sculpture intrigues me, and I think of other people who see them, and the proof is in their smile. I will make kinetic sculptures for the rest of my life and know they will change and morph over time into other things. Change is good. It keeps it interesting.

Your studio must be an interesting space, what does it look like?

DK: My studio is made of two shacks that used to be a gardener's shed. The only thing I did was cut an opening inside the shacks to connect them. My wife, Audrey, is a painter, so one shack is her studio, and the other is mine. It's messy—overfilled with metal, cuttings, tools, equipment, and sculptures. I am working on hanging from the ceiling. It is cluttered, but I can get everything that needs to be done there. If it's a large-scale piece, I cut it inside and assemble it outside. Our animals also surround us that we let wander freely. We have two goats, ducks, doves, cats, and my helper Elli, our turkey. They are all friendly pets and greet visitors when they come by to see our work—a little piece of heaven!

What have you discovered to be a theory or principle when making a sculpture, and what stumbling blocks have you encountered that challenge you to relook at materials and designs?

DK: I will be making wind-activated sculptures of my design for a long time. When creating a new sculpture that moves differently, I make a test model first and see how it will react in the wind. If it doesn't work the way I envisioned it, I will tweak it or change something to get the desired movement I'm looking for. That can be a stumbling block because if it's not working the way I want it, then it's back to the drawing board. I'll put it on the back shelf until I find a solution. But when it works, it's excellent; and I will design a sculpture to harness the desired motion, color, size, etc.

Tell us what you enjoy most about a successful kinetic sculpture you have created.

DK: When I start making a sculpture and know it will be successful, I can't wait to finish it. When it's completed and placed in a nice setting with the wind blowing it around, I feel elated, "Wow, that's cool!"

Many of us are perfectionists and are always dissatisfied with a completed project. How is it with you? Do you find you need a significant amount of patience at times when building a design?

DK: It would help if you always had patience— when creating anything, you can't rush it. I am in no way a perfectionist, but I have noticed that I pay attention to detail more than I did in the past. I spend a little more time working out the imperfections, but I do notice little mistakes, if any, that I make—even if others don't see them—and try to remedy them.

What was your early work that specifically involved creating a "flying machine" about?

DK: I was always fascinated with flight. As a kid, I would build model airplanes and collect miniature aircraft. I tried jumping off the garage roof with an umbrella, then a sheet tied to my arms and legs. Luckily, I didn't break anything! As I got older, I saw pictures of hang gliders, so I built one using bamboo and a big sheet of orange plastic wrap and wrapped it around the frame. I would run down a big hill at my grandparent's house next door with my glider, desperately trying to get off the ground, exhausted after several tries. I realized Continued on next page...

Drew Klotz Kinetic Sculpture

the wingspan was too small, so I put that one on the back shelf. In my first year in college at Southern Connecticut, before transferring to Cooper, I had an opportunity to get hang gliding lessons with a few friends. I got the hang of it right away and finally got that feeling of floating in the air. It was great!

When I arrived at Cooper Union, I wanted to capture that feeling of flight, so I built a sculpture that would become part of the anti-gravity machine. When set in motion, you would float, become weightless in the air and activate other moving shapes within the sculpture. It was so popular it got the attention of ABC News and the New Yorker magazine. I finally succeeded in my quest for flight.

The Wit Gallery in Lenox is currently representing your kinetic sculpture. Lynda Strauch, owner of the gallery, has created a beautiful space. When I’m visitng Lenox, I see your large sculptures outside the gallery and watch people's reactions to the metal-moving parts, the motion sensitive cir- cular shapes turning and spinning. Lenox is a great place for curious, creative-minded people. Do you find this to be true? In what ways?

DK: The WIT is a nice Gallery, and Lynda Strauch is a wonderful person. We have an excellent working relationship. The WIT is a gem in the Berkshires. Many creative people from around the world are attracted to that area for the art and music of Tanglewood. There's a rich history of artists, musicians, and writers who have lived and are living in the Berkshires.

Your sculptures must go to people and places that love to de-stress and read books. They are in idyllic locations, outdoors where nature and artwork are appreciated in a unifying way. How do you find your sculptures meshing within their natural and artificial environments? Do you have a preference?

DK: My sculptures go all over the world. I have had all kinds of people purchase my work because they like it, and it has a mesmerizing calming effect on people— almost a Zen-like meditation. I guess you can say de-stressing quality to them. My sculptures have been placed in some public areas, but mostly private homes from mansions to small houses, super contemporary to old colonial houses. They look great in any environment, because I think people like the idea of color and motion in a natural setting. They are the perfect focal point. and to know she was an artist sealed the deal. We have three kids, a bunch of animals, and we just celebrated our 25th Anniversary in May. She's an outstanding painter, mostly abstract; as she says, she is all "over the place" in painting styles. She has painted pure color fields, abstract, realistic landscapes, animals, black-and-white abstracts, and currently colorful fantasy flowers. They are a "series," but she constantly changes her style. When creating new work for shows, she will put on classical music to get in the groove. She can paint for hours. We critique each other's work, and she is right most of the time! She also manages some business dealings, and I make her frames. We also do art shows and festivals together. We have a great working partnership, and at the end of the day, we eat dinner and watch British murder mysteries, among other things.

Driving through the backroads of the Berkshires, do you see your sculptures alive and kicking in people's backyards?

DK: There are a lot of my sculptures around the Berkshires, but most are in private yards. You can’t see them from the roads, but I know they’re there!

Audrey, your wife, is also an artist. Please tell us a little about her work. How can you describe the creative art-making side of the partnership?

DK: Audrey and I met at Arts Alive Day in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was love at first sight, Continued on next page...

What in your life tends to be positive influences?

DK: Most everything I see in nature can be an in- fluence—water, wind on different types of leaves, fish swimming, birds flying, waves on the ocean. My influential artists are Nevelson, Calder, Ricky, Snelson, Einsel, Tinguely, Smith—the list goes on! Music: Beatles, Stones, Doors, CSNY, Mitchell, Beach Boys, classical, old movie music, Glass, Williams, Jazz, old and new, contemporary Matheny, and some music that inspires actual sculptures! Everything influences me, but it has to be my original idea.

There is a science to kinetics that you probably find yourself explaining to people. In today's world, would you have a specific and slightly new way of explaining to those out there what is truly going on with your art?

DK: Kinetics is science, engineering, design, color, mixed together and applied to your own concept, sprinkled with imagination and invention. You would have to physically learn how to make things work using the right tools and materials. I think a good imagination. If you can see it in your mind, you can make it.