character mould art project

Lemming Day video by Rusk

2010-11-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

Not sure why I forgot to post this edit by Rusk here on the blog, anyway here's a short vid from Lemming Day - thanks Tom!

Character Mould … the final pic (for now)

2010-07-19T04:08:00.001-07:00

It's (kinda) done, the site is public. Have fun, don't litter, don't wax the coping and respect the project …

Painting the big Lemming

2010-07-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Check this quick timelapse of yesterday's painting session … how the blank sculpt turned into a lemming:

Lemming Day Skate&Paint Session

2010-07-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

A broken (sprained IMHO, so I removed the plaster cast) wrist and a bad weather forcast were no reason to not host the Skate&Paint Session for the character mould opening. And it was a fun day at the park – until it started to rain at 17h or so.

Could't finish all that we wanted to do, anyway I'm stoked on the output …

Lemming Bowl - ready to rock!

2010-07-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

10 days to go … lemming day on 07.17. should be fun. As there's hardly any skatepics of the Lemming bowl in Radstadt around, Stefan and me took some pics yesterday. A fun session at the skatepark, more shots should follow next week!

Character Mould Opening - July 17th

2010-07-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

Time for more details, as the official opening gets closer. On 07.17. I'll host a session: skating, painting, BBQ, some free beer for friends and dope music. The timetable is attached (check the flyer), and I'm pretty stoked to be supported by some friends and brands:

Carhartt and Red Bull for supporting the DJ Lineup and sound system - on the decks of the Volvo Sugga will be DJ Buzz (Waxolutionists) and DJ Busy Fingaz (Wax Wreckaz).
Heineken sent some trays of beer … something to party after the session!
MTN cans sponsors some free spraypaint, so the lemming might get quite colorful!
Land Salzburg, Radstadt, Absolut Park and Harml helped out in setting up the project - thanks for the support!

making of … a quick look back

2010-06-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

A month to go before character mould will be introduced officially, so probably a good time for a quick look back … time lapse of the last year of building:

Next step will be the painting the whole site, this should be fun :)

07.17. - Lemming Day/Character Mould Opening

2010-06-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, the date was already announced a while ago, at least some hints were given in the Cappuccino Club Calendar 2010 … July 17th is Lemming Day!

So I'll host the official opening of the Character Mould Project in Radstadt that day, with a proper skatesession, music, painting and some beer. Stay tuned for more info, but save the day!

Lemming Bowl Radstadt skateable!

2010-05-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the patience everyone, the lemming bowl is finally skateable again. Casting the big statue took as longer then expected, bad wheater and other things delayed setting up. But now there's no excuse anymore, and with the latest rain the pool should also be pretty clean - have fun :)

lemming setup in progress

2010-05-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Mac and Christian came over again to help setting up the Lemming. These two folks and the incredible Schorsch (operating the crane) made it quite simple and we managed to get the whole statue out of the mould in about 5 hours!

Now it's a couple of more details that need to be done to finish the site, but this was definately a crucial day for the whole project!

If the weather stays dry we can work on the back of the statue tomorrow to make it more solid, but it looks already quite massive ;)

the base is done …

2010-05-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today I finished the base for the statue, another 10tons of gravel, mixed with cement. That should be solid enough to carry the lemming ;)

Works will continue next week, we'll get the big crane again and start lifting the lemming out of the mould … stay tuned!

setting up the big I-beams

2010-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

Two days of work to set up the base and I-beams for the big statue - thanks to Toni and Sigi who did an amazing job!

So lifting both 7m steel beams and putting them in place was one thing, to do all the shuttering and fix it another.

And I also managed to finish the missing bank, the first time I had to do something like this on my own, but it turned out quite ok …

the new bank - in progress

2010-05-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

Did the shuttering for the missing bank today … quite a good workout, and I used a lot of left steel …

The big I-Beams arrived today as well, so fingers crossed we can continue tomorrow with digging and more shuttering!

waiting for more concrete

2010-05-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Most of the structure for the statue is done, next step is to set up two massive, steel I-Beams. And we'll also build another small bank, hopefully all that should happen this week …

Lemming Sections

2010-05-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

The first slice of lemming is done! Yesterday we fixed all sidewalls to out wooden structure, and moved the lower bit – worked. So today we'll try to finish the other sections as well, and then all we need is a big crane ;)

the wooden structure

2010-04-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Another solid step for the project, we added most of the basic structure. The guys did great and finally this looks as if it could work.

Thanks a lot to Alex, Christian, Kristian, Mac and Nick. Great week, good progress! Project paused for the weekend, we're waiting for more material to come, so next update will follow next week ;)

running out of material

2010-04-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Finally a nice day, and we managed to work quite fast on the last missing parts. At least we were faster then material lasted, so we had to stop laminating in the early afternoon, as we ran out of resin :(

Reordered, but this will take about 5 days to be here …

Anyway, work continues as we hafe to work on some shuttering tomorrow.

more rain and our plan B

2010-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

It continued to rain, but we decided to not let this stop us … plan B is to work under a tarp as long as necessary. So hopefully the weather will get better tomorrow, or at least stay dry for longer - fingers crossed!

weather forecast: wait!

2010-04-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Started to build the biggest piece of the statue, but just as we were about to finish the first layer, it started to rain …

So we have to wait for the next dry day to continue

:(

Laminating a big bit of whatever

2010-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today we started to work inside the mould, trying to find a way to laminate the statue properly. Thanks to Nick, Kristian, Christian and Mac for helping me to get this bit of work done!

Now we're hoping for good wheater to keep able to work on it this week - fingers crossed!

sealing the mould and preparing for more

2010-04-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Building the statue ist scheduled for next week, so we had to seal the concrete surface of the mould. So thanks to Nick we finished that in no time today - a fresh coat of Sikafloor ProSeal.

And me moved some material to prepare the plattform for the statue. I'm sure the final location will look ace!

Skatepark Radstadt - Mould/Bowl finished

2010-03-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

As posted previously, the bowl is done! I worked on some details the last days, including tuning the coping, which is now super fast. So here's the latest pic of the project …

We still need to seal the concrete, so it might be closed for another 2 days to dry. This is likely to happen next week, if the weather stays dry. Please respect signs and works, so everyone can enjoy the final piece asap!

Lemming Bowl 2010 - spring cleaning

2010-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

The lemming is back from hibernation - I cleaned the bowl today. So it'll be open/skateable for about 3 weeks now, before we enter the final stage of the project.

So enjoy spring, and please keep the place clean! Cheers!

the winter update - waiting for spring

2010-02-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

A short update from the project, but it doesn't look as if we'd continue soon. There's about 2ft of snow in the bowl, and that'll take a while to melt.

So we'll start working on the bowl and the statue in spring, as soon as temperatures and weather are ok. Stay tuned ;)

Resin arrived … but has to wait

2009-10-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got all the Jesmonite laminating material to start working on the sculpture - 1200kg of resin. Too bad it arrived too late to start building, as we'd need about 15° to work with it.

So this will have to wait for a while … the character mould project is on hibernation!

winterbreak? hibernation? weather can be a bitch …

2009-10-14T02:06:00.000-07:00

After finishing the concrete a week ago (at temperatures around 25°) we are set to cast the statue, but currently temperatures dropped (to around 0°) and there's snow all over Radstadt …

So fingers crossed that weather will change again, as we'd need temperatures around 10°+ to work on the lemming!

first vandalism and first green

2009-10-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

Just checked the construction site, and there was bad news and good news.

Bad news: some jackasses pushed the construction site fence down into the water … was pretty hard getting it out again. Not sure if they know about the consequences, but these little things are the reason that the skatepark won't get any additional concrete features – well done kids!

Good news: the first grass is growing, so the site gets a bit of green finally. And just in time before winter arrives!

concrete finished - the mould is done!

2009-10-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Today was not only the warmest day in October in over 50 years, it was also a brilliant day to finish concrete works in Radstadt. So thanks to Cradle Crew (Hannes, Alex and Alex) we managed to build the missing plattforms – yeah!

Plus, I started to paint the mould with some high quality concrete sealer. So it needs to rest for some days now (nights are pretty cold, so it'll take a while), and the next step is laminating the statue ;-)

the first seeds, and more mesh

2009-10-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

Today we started with seeding, hope the grass will grow before winter - so fingers crossed for warm temperatures …

And we worked on the mesh for the missing plattforms. Next week we should be able to hopefully finish all concrete works!

back to work, back to digging!

2009-09-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

After a 2-week-break to let the 'crete dry, we restarted building today. And we got a big digger (from Manfred Winter) to build up a solid wall for the missing plattform.

Thanks a lot to Hermann Maier from Gemeinde Radstadt for doing an awesome job! And thanks again to Herbert Heigl as well as Reiter Erdbau for supplying us with material!

a short break from building

2009-09-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

… construction site closed for some days, the mould needs to dry, and I need to organise the next steps. I'm currently looking for someone to help me with the statue and get a proper timetable done to finish the project this fall!

flat and table - more concrete for Radstadt

2009-09-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today was the third day in a row with concrete works, we actually finished the flat and the first two plattforms.

Next step will be the preparation to cast the lemming - but that's probably a really tricky part of the project …

tranisitons finished!

2009-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

2nd day of 'crete in the mould and we finished all the tricky bits!

Tomorrow we'll try to do the flat and some parts of the plattform, and then the concrete needs to dry for a couple of days …

First concrete

2009-09-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

We got the first two trucks with concrete from Harml today, and thanks to the great efford of Alex, Alex, Hannes, Roli and Philipp we finished all the prepared segments!

Tomorrow we'll try to do the other transition bits, and hopefully table and flat on Wednesday – fingers crossed!

20 years that moulded my character …

2009-09-03T12:33:00.001-07:00

This week it's 20 years from building my first miniramp … and character mould project is definately something to pay tribute to my 2 1/2 decades of boardsports!

So in September 1989 my brother and me build a 4ft miniramp in our parents house, right under the roof. A couple of months later we improved it, and got a wider version. This miniramp fueled our skating for some years, including sessions with loads of friends and international pro skaters like Donny Myhre (Zorlac) and Chris Livingston (H-Streets).

Formworks for plattforms

2009-09-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

We finished most of the formworks today, so actually we could start with 'crete anytime. But will have to wait to next week to start with that …

tricky sections - the ears

2009-09-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

More formworks done the last 2 days, finally added some tricky bits …

The lemming's ears will be an important feature, for the statue as well as the mould. so expect something like two love-seats in the mould (hehe, bowl). We'll see soon if this makes sense, it's sure a challenge ;-)

some useless work?

2009-08-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

We finished more piece of shuttering formwork … but seems this wasn't necessary?!? According to our concrete wizards, we don't need all these segments, but rather do it in one go. At least it looks nice, and you can imagine the final shape a little better now ;-)

mesh and some shuttering formwork

2009-08-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

After yesterdays rain and a cloudy morning I went to grab more material: wood for the shuttering formwork. My mate Philipp came over from Imst at about midday to help out, and we could finish the first bits with the iron mesh - a very important factor for the concrete mould.

Tomorrow we’ll try to finish more segments, so we can start with the concrete next week …

with a little help from Tyrol …

2009-08-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today Alex (from Cradle Skatepark/13 Weizen) showed up to support me with know-how and manual help – thanks dude! So we worked on getting the shape right to do all the shuttering formwork tomorrow.

Finally the plattforms look like plattforms, the transitions are pretty close to the right radius and we can start with the concrete next week (hopefully) … if the weather stays ok. But actually it did start to rain today, so we'll see!

Mounting the coping … yeah!

2009-08-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my incredible Dad we mounted the coping within a day on location!

He came with the old family truck (anyone remembering that tour?) full of metal, we unloaded, leveled, welded and fixed everything … so hopefully starting tomorrow with the metal mesh and the transitions!

Plus thanks to Stefan who helped us on site today, helping hands are always welcome ;-)

Plywood Transitions

2009-08-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Before fixing the coping, we cut a couple of transition bits with the right radius … they will be needed as soon as we start with the concrete. Thanks to Alois Buchsteiner who helped us with these, always handy to have a carpenter supporting you with his equipment ;-)

So the mould will not be too steep, and it will casting the character easier!

Next step: rolling the coping

2009-08-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

The next thing to do in order to keep going is getting a proper coping for the bowl. Ok, maybe I should stop talking about a bowl, as it's still a mould for a statue – therefore we don't really need one. Still, I'm getting one, just in case someone might skate the mould ;-)

Thanks Dad for getting the steel, rolling the pieces, welding them, etc. – we couldn't do without your help!

Helping Hands from the UK arrived!

2009-08-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yeahhh, Nick arrived today to help (thanks dude!!!), and we got the first full truckload of building material from Baustoffwerk Harml – so the project hit the next level!

Leveling out the flat today, and we tried to find where the table needs to be fixed. More building will happen tomorrow, as Dad is working on the coping at the moment ;-)

I'm shakin’, I'm shakin’

2009-08-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried using a Rammax in a flatbottom with about 80cm of dirt/stones on a 1m diameter metall water pipe underneath? I did, and it feels like a permanent earthquake. So today had a lot of good vibrations … haha!

Thanks to Rupert Schneider for helping me out with this machine!

An important helping hand will arrive tomorrow, Nick from Rawstudio is coming over from London to help for a couple of days … yeah!

a fast day of diggin'

2009-08-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a day. Thanks to my man Fritz aka. Bagger Freak we had a big day today. 12h diggin' on site, and it was totally worth it – the first time the construction site looks like a project, not a flat space!

We managed to get down the basic shape of the mould (or bowl - whatever suits you better) and if everything works in that pace – fair enough ;-)

And thanks a load to Jürgen Grüßer for helping us up with the digger (not even mentioning the free Diesel here!) and Christian Ebner from Bauhof Radstadt for his support – very important helping hand!

trucks full of dirt

2009-08-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

After a day of cleaning the site (bushes, trees, trunks) I got the some loads of back-dirt. We'll use that material next week to set up the basic shape for the bowl, before getting the base isolation in …

Thanks to Reiter Erdbau and Baumeister Heigl vor supplying the project!

First bowl layout, you get the idea

2009-08-10T08:03:00.001-07:00

Ok, delays are always up in the air, thanks to a busy July in Vienna I just started with getting the timerable straight. So the last weekend was the next step, cutting down some bushes and trees, and painting the outlines to check if everything will work out dimension-wise.

Talked to a load of people the last days about material, fixing helping hands etc, and it looks as if we can really start soon!

Project started!

2009-07-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, about 1 year after the first idea, we started in Radstadt. The site is now getting cleared for us to start with the bowl. First steps include a lot of dirt, and we will see how this all turns out ;-)

A lemming named Kirk Rebellion

2009-06-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I have no clue why I started to draw lemmings, but over the years the lemming turned into my signature character. Different versions like the dead lemming or robotic ones can be found, and the most importent: he turned into my alter ego for various reasons.

Kirk Rebellion is an anagram. Like Mr. Mojo Risin' or Dan Abnormal he's a synonym/alter ego, and the name is a homage to punk movement/subculture (did someone mention Sid Vicious?)

Basically, Kirk Rebellion is just another lemming – with attitude! A symbol for DIY but still a nice guy … well, in my book he is!

And Kirk started to appear on products like skatedecks (Adhoc Decks), goggles/shades (Gloryfy) anc clothing (Untho).

a looooong break

2009-04-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

… ok, project delayed …

First, the long winter wouldn't allow to start as planed (I had go skateboarding day in mind for a first session).

Then we had further problems on location, as the choosen spot (additional space for the Skatepark in Radstadt) needs a new pipeline for the small river – and getting this signed off still takes more time :(

Plus the recession doesn't really help in getting some additional sponsors hooked on the project.

New 3D model …

2009-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

Rübe from Archispass helped me on getting a decent 3D model out, thanks mate!

Character Design tweaks: Kirk Rebellion

2008-10-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

After a while working on the project, I realized a more unique shape would be more exciting, compared to the first outline. Starting from scratch didn't make sense, so I transformed my Kirk Rebellion character and tweaked it to be skateable …

So the improved shape would not only stand out more as a statue. It adds more features to the bowl: a small hip and a small taco ;-)

About Character Mould

2008-09-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

Character Mould is a urban art project: a sculpture-reference to art toys, character design and skateboarding.

It started in early July 2008 with an idea:
build a oversized mould and cast a giant character out of it …

The basic idea behind it was to create a lasting landmark for public use: an art sculpture that works as skatebowl, a statue that can be a legal graffiti wall …

So a concept was entered into the Podium 08 competition by Land Salzburg … and surprisingly got funded! A tight budget needing the DIY approach of the mentioned subcultures, but at least something to start with ;-)

In early September 2008, just 2 days after getting the good news from Land Salzburg, the first meeting with the mayor of Radstadt took place, and after a short presentation they decided to support the project.