Creative City Challenge 2016 Winner

Christopher Lutter, Heid E. Erdrich, Kim Ford, Karl Stoerzinger, Coal Dorius and Missy Adzick

It is easy to understand why a squirrel scurrying across a sidewalk causes little to no reaction. But what would you do if you caught a glimpse of an 18-foot-tall moose or gargantuan grey wolf in the heart of a city? Imagine that your very presence in the midst of these sculptures initiated a conversation about our place in the indigenous “world order” with the wolf and moose as our guide and teacher.

"Wolf and Moose" consists of spectacle-scale animal sculptures of a wolf and moose that are interactive, animated and illuminated, and are constructed using found and recycled materials. The sculptures include stationary bicycles which, when pedaled, provide animations inside the bodies of the animals: breathing, heart beating and an illuminated globe of the Earth rotating. The pedaling also powers a small onboard speaker that plays recorded works of poetry and story reflecting on our relationship with the animals and the Earth.

This project is driven by a distinctive spiritual ecology. With the advent of the "Global Warming Age," the artists wish to demonstrate that Minneapolis is at the forefront of initiatives to live more sustainably (and sanely) on this Earth. But even more, they wish to highlight that we have a widely shared culture of deep ecology, which is essential to bringing about genuine and enduring systemic change.

"Wolf and Moose" inspires awe, generates playfulness, sparks reflections on our place as humans in the natural and social order and celebrates the many facets of our progressive and innovative community.

Check out more from Wolf and Moose:

Creative City Challenge 2016 from Northern Lights.mn on Vimeo.

More information on the 2016 CCC Winner: Press Release