There’s always been a connection between the playas of Key West and “the Playa” of the Black Rock Desert. Every year, burners from our island trek out West to experience the art of Burning Man. More recently, Miami developed its own version, Love Burn, offering a mind-bending visual experience much closer to home. This fall, our penultimate week of creativity brings an art collective featured at Love Burn to Key West.
Artist Josh Cohen, and his Catskills-based studio PDA Goodwork, will install works outdoors in front of the Mel Fisher Museum and Opal Key. Among PDA’s notable creations slated for installation is the “Musical Icons Pyramid,” a large-scale work that demonstrates the artist’s fascination with movement and interaction. The sculpture, along with other wild creations, aim to bring immersive art and audience participation to Fantasy Fest.
The selection of this piece links Key West’s arts culture with the party atmosphere of Fantasy Fest. Our island has always had a unique relationship with art — one that favors individuality, a willingness to look at the world a little differently and color, color, color. The island has long attracted people who appreciate art that breaks the rules and invites a little playfulness. Those ideals fuse in PDA’s large-scale, interactive sculptures. Rather than creating pieces that are meant to remain behind a barrier or be admired from a distance, PDA creates environments that encourage participation and curiosity. Cohen and his team create works that invite people to touch, move, play and become part of the experience — a spirit that seems particularly well suited to Key West.
Their large-scale kinetic sculptures combine art, engineering, movement and mechanical craftsmanship to create installations that are as much about participation as they are about visual beauty. “Our goal is to provide an interactive artistic experience,” PDA says. “We strive to create something unique, engaging and inspiring.” In a world filled with art that is primarily there to be looked at, the company takes a different approach — create something that can be touched and interacted with, art that begs the viewer to become part of the piece.
PDA’s work draws inspiration from some unlikely places, including physics, music and simple mechanics. The result is sculpture that changes as people interact with it, transforming the audience from observers into participants. The installations coming to Key West are designed to encourage curiosity and play. Visitors may find themselves pushing, spinning, touching, exploring or simply watching as other people discover the work. There is no instruction manual and no expected interpretation. The point is simply to experience the art and enjoy.
Interactive art often aspires to invite reflection, but PDA isn’t interested in insisting that every piece carry a profound message. “Art doesn’t always need some ‘deep meaning,’” the company says. “We are here to make fun, beautiful art.” That philosophy makes the work particularly accessible — this is artwork for an audience that doesn’t consider itself to be an “arts audience.” You don’t need to know anything about contemporary art to enjoy them. There is no required interpretation and no right way to experience the work. The invitation is simply to engage.
There is not necessarily a single “correct” way to experience an installation. The art changes depending on who is interacting with it and how they choose to engage. It is work that meets people where they are. Expertise not required.
In the context of Fantasy Fest, the arrival of PDA’s installations adds another playful element to an already vibrant creative landscape. Our streets and public spaces will soon start to add some color and sparkle, in anticipation of the festival, providing opportunities for unexpected artistic encounters. Visitors will stop to take selfies with wild backdrops and pull scantily clad revelers into photos with their friends. Even when it is called by another name, there will be moments of “interactive art” happening everywhere in Old Town the last week of October. PDA’s sculptures offer yet another reason to stop, explore, take a closer look.
With its elaborate, mesmerizing and touch-friendly creations, PDA is bringing a simple invitation to Fantasy Fest: Don’t just look at the art. Touch it. Move it. Play with it. Become part of it.
