August 11, 2010 Listen to the Story All Things Considered [4 min 18 sec] Add to Playlist Download Transcript

In a parking lot near the Golden State Freeway, Los Angeles artist Joel Kyack is stripping right down to his underwear. He squeezes into a black bodysuit that makes the skinny 37-year-old look even skinnier, and pops open the back hatch of a dusty white truck. He’s setting the stage — quite literally — for another installment of his first large-scale public art project: a rush-hour puppet show.

The show, called Superclogger after L.A.’s endlessly clogged freeways, was conceived with Kyack’s friend Peter Fuller. Fueled by a determinedly low-tech aesthetic, it stars a cast that suggests a group of funky, grimy, homemade Muppets, acting out short vignettes on themes that might speak to people stuck in traffic. Coping with uncertain conditions, for instance, or the state of being controlled.

When informed that a major sports event is hopelessly tying up traffic, Kyack can barely contain his delight. “We’re gonna be able to do like three performances between here and the 101!” he crows.

Unfortunately, that turns out not to be the case. Shortly after NPR producer Amy Walters and I follow Kyack onto the freeway in my rental car, the artist gets pulled over by the California Highway Patrol. He doesn’t get in trouble. But then again, the cops don’t quite buy his academic theories about offering a space of engagement for drivers to reflect on the chaotic structures of their daily routine. Read more at www.npr.org