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ARTS & CULTURE
VALERIE HAAG/KANSAN
"NuPenny's Last Stand" was created by Wichita artist Randy Regier. It is a part of the Spencer Museum's At Large project.
KANSAN.COM
09
Regier, artist behind 'NuPenny,' discusses his work
BRIANNA CHILDERS
@breeanuhh3
Randy Regier, the artist behind "NuPenny's Last Stand," wanted to create something that would make people want to know what it means and why it matters. Most of all, he wants people to be able to connect to his artwork just like he has.
"NuPenny" shines bright as it comes into view over the crest of a hill. It sits at the end of a road, and anyone who doesn't know what it is may think it's an object landed here from another planet.
The Spencer Museum of Art, which has been working with the artist on the project, described "NuPenny" as "a traveling toy store designed with a nod to yesteryear and filled with intriguing toy creations."
Regier, however, wants people to be able to figure out what it means for themselves.
"I would just assume people would look at the work and decide what they are seeing and, if it matters, figure out why it matters to them," Regier said.
While Regier was growing up in Omaha, Neb., he learned automobile body paint and took that on as a career. He also did some cartoon work. It wasn't until his mid-30s that he decided to attend Kansas State University.
"As an untraditional undergrad, I was making things at a higher level than most, and working in the autobody industry I had acquired a certain skill set," Regier said.
As a child, Regier said he didn't know he would become an artist but it was something he knew he had a natural talent for.
"I grew up in a culture where art was celebrated, but it was more of something you did after work and
not for a living," Regier said.
He describes his art fundamentally as sculpture and three-dimensional, but he doesn't consider himself a sculptor.
"My biggest passion and ambition is to tell a story," Regier said. "I am very driven by the narrative of a story so my art comes across as sculpture but is driven by a desire to tell stories and to create and invoke mysteries."
When it comes to "NuPenny," which is currently stationed in Lawrence, Regier said he pulled inspiration for the installation from "The Twilight Zone."
"The whole idea of 'The Twilight Zone' is that scenarios happen in a very common environment and everything is very familiar and then it becomes very unfamiliar," he said.
Regier wanted to create something and put it in a location that would make people want to figure out why it appeared there all of a sudden. He said he hopes people find the art installation to be interesting and that it becomes a conversation starter for many.
The name for "NuPenny" comes from Regier's fascination with pennies. Regier said he finds pennies very charming, yet they are "valueless and ludicrous," he said.
"We value them enough to spend four times their worth to make them but we will step over them on the sidewalk," he said. "That's sort of analogous to art; it's not really worth much but people don't want it to go away."
Regier and his wife scouted out locations for the installation around Lawrence with staff members from the Spencer Museum of Art, with whom he has been working closely
To go with its unique name, "Nu-Penny" needed a unique location.
on the project. He said he wanted to stray away from the art district and find a place that would spark conversation because it was different.
"It's the last place you would expect to see it and you come up over the hill and it's right there," Regier said. "It's my dream spot because it's so damn weird and cool for an art installation."
Elizabeth: Canost, communications coordinator for the art museum, said Regier and the museum staff made a decision early in the planning process to not reveal the location in any of their pre-installation promotion.
"Once it was installed, we began to drop hints on social media and posters downtown." Canost said.
Regier said among the other locations "NuPenny" has been — Florida, Maine, Illinois and Arkansas — Lawrence is the most personal for him. Regier said he can relate to the mobile home community around the art installation because he grew up in a mobile home.
"Chances are if you grew up in a
mobile home, you weren't spending your summer in New York going to museums," he said. "I think a lot about my childhood and how long it took for me to be aware of art and how little I saw of it."
He said he feels the art installation is something he would have wanted to experience when he was growing up and, so far, he has received a lot of positive feedback.
As for future locations for "NuPenny," he said a dream location would be off the coast of Portland, Maine.
"With ["NuPenny"] being solar powered now, I would love to have it floating out in the middle of the water on a ship. It's doable but would be quite the endeavor," he said.
Regier leaves the decision of whether or not to move "NuPenny" around Lawrence up to the art museum staff.
"My ideal scenario is that people decide for themselves what it is. I want it to be this mysterious thing that causes interest and conversation," Regier said.
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