Big Red

Inflatable Suit

2008

Big Red inflatable suit bounding through Bluestar Arts Complex parking lot

Construction workers in Grand Rapids stare at an inflatable suit

Jimmy Kuehnle squeezes through parked bicycles in an inflatable suit in Japan

Japanese children follow Jimmy Kuehnle in his inflatable suit in Kyoto, Japan

Inflatable suit crossing the street in Sakae shopping district

Big Red iinflatable suit in the middle of the street in Laredo, Texas

Above view of inflatable suit near UTSA Satellite Space in San Antonio, Texas

Big Red inflatable suit along the Kamo River in Kyoto, Japan

The suit is powered by a 12v blower motor, freeing Kuehnle to squeeze though narrow streets and dodge oncoming cars and pedestrians without the need to be plugged in. The performance will continue his message of, "Stop. Talk to me. We are both people."

Kuehnle makes his art 50% for himself and 50% for the viewer. The bright color of the red suit should attract the attention of pedestrians making nonsense of common sense. The handmade inflatable suit is about 16 feet tall, 24 feet wide and 15 feet long. Using about 160 yards of fabric and countless meters of thread, the suit engulfs Kuehnle in a conflagration of inflated cones.