© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Artist Petah Coyne: Peacocks as Symbol of Renewal

Artist Petah Coyne talks to docents before the opening of The Big Reveal at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Mo.
photo: Laura Spencer/KCUR
Artist Petah Coyne talks to docents before the opening of The Big Reveal at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Mo.

Sculptor Petah Coyne's Untitled #1336 (Scalapino Nu Shu) is a massive installation, featuring a 14-foot-high apple tree covered in black sand, and taxidermied pheasants and peacocks. The subtitle of the work refers to Coyne's friendship with the late poet Leslie Scalapino, and n? shu - a centuries old Chinese writing technique used by women, stories told in secret writing.

By Laura Spencer

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-990023.mp3

Kansas City, Mo – For a series called "Artists in their Own Words," KCUR's Laura Spencer listened in to a docent training at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Petah Coyne's installation, Untitled #1336 (Scalapino Nu Shu) is one of several new acquisitions at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and the centerpiece of an exhibition called The Big Reveal, which runs through April 15, 2012.

Download recent arts stories or subscribe to the KCUR Arts Podcast

Funding for arts coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency

Laura Spencer is staff writer/editor at the Kansas City Public Library and a former arts reporter at KCUR.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.