Public Art > Catalyst



Catalyst 2010
Galvanized Steel, Aluminum, hydraulic winch and motor, steel cable, LED fixtures, laser etched stainless steel
Commissioned by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA)
31st and Troost--Kansas City, Missouri
As KC MAX hybrid buses traveling southbound approaching the 31st and Troost intersection trigger Catalyst to unfold its wing-like arm structures.  Approximately a minute or two later the arms fold back up awaiting to repeat the gesture minutes later for the next bus.

Troost is a Dutch word with root meanings related to the words trust, truth and tree.  Troost Avenue is named after Dr. Benoist Troost, one of the founding fathers of Kansas City. 

Trees represent much of this corridor’s past, present and future. The Osage Nation, like many other Native American groups, marked their trails not with footpaths, but by manipulating the branches of young sapling trees.  A fruit orchard, along with pasture and cropland, existed north of 31st & Troost on the Porter Slave Plantation.

Catalyst is a combination of the many voices of Troost—past, present and future. The arms of the sculpture also stand for the eclectic and vibrant range of cultural perspectives that have the hope of transforming this area for an even more positive tomorrow.  This corner once stood as the epicenter of activity during the early- to mid-20th century. Could it once again be a “catalyst” for a brighter future?

The series of “roots” at the base of the “trunk” will fuse into medallions of honor. These medallions pay homage to a few of the many unsung individuals and groups who helped establish this corridor.  The form of sculpture for some may represent the form of a tree, or the abstraction of a spark of light or even yet the dawn of a new day as a sun unfolds its’ rays of light.  My hope is for Catalyst to mean different things to different people as local citizens become stewards of “Catalyst” and the Troost corridor it represents.