Look What Just Rolled Into Town

Annie Block -- Interior Design, 3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

BARCELONA, SPAIN. SYDNEY, Australia. Busan, South Korea. Those are among the far-flungstops along the route of the RedBall Project, which just finished doing the, uh, rounds in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This behemoth of a ball—made of PVC, measuring 15 feet in diameter, and weighing 250 pounds—is the creation ofsculptor and video artist Kurt Perschke. It made its debut in St. Louis, under a nondescriptconcrete overpass. “The ball is the tactile, humorous object that allows people to discoverunnoticed aspects of their city,” he says.

Before appearing in a new location, the deflated ball gets packed into a red nylon bag, shipped in a refrigerator-size plastic crate, and reinflated by an industrial-strength blower. The artist meanwhile spends two weeks exploring the city in question, sketching potential sites in watercolor and ink.

During the 15 days in Arizona, RedBall made 10 appearances—basking by the pool at the Mondrian Scottsdale, waiting for the bus at Loloma Station, wedged between the Arabian Library's rusted-steel walls. “It's really not about the ball,” Perschke says. “It's moreabout community, imagination. At the core of RedBall is an invitation.”