Art in the District

Local Art Sheds Light on Downtown's Colorful Streets

Story by Pete Dulin. Images courtesy of artists.

Published: Friday, September 5, 2008

Art in the District Nicholas and Angela Snyder Arvin
Nicholas and Angela Snyder, Arvin

Nicholas and Angela Snyder - Nerdbots
"Arvin" and "Leotron" - Found object sculpture

Artist biography
We walk through life looking at discarded parts and outdated electronics as though they are heads, bodies, legs or arms. We pick through boxes of metal scraps looking for value in something that others see as trash. We assign personality to people's unwanted junk.

By doing this, we bring life to items previously deemed lifeless, thrown out, unwanted. Individually each part may seem like a piece of junk, but together the parts form robotic creations with their own personas and endearing qualities that make people smile.

Present: Tell us about your process and how a work develops:

Snyder: We are constantly searching for items that represent robot body parts. We add these to our ever-growing junk storage, and when we are ready to start a new creation we visit our collection and see what fits together. Sometimes it seems like certain pieces were just made to be together. We also bounce ideas off of each other all along the way, working as a collaborative team.

Present: Is the display of local art in public important to the community? Why or why not?

Snyder: Kansas City has a very rich arts community that we should all be proud of. We're so lucky to have so much creativity here to inspire us and open our imaginations to new possibilities.

Present: What is one adjective that you wouldn't want applied to your work on display at Art in the District?

Snyder: Boring

Present: Is there a public or private work of art in Kansas City that inspires you?

Snyder: We make all of our robots in a studio in the Arts Incubator, so we're constantly working alongside lots of other talented artists that we draw inspiration from. It's interesting for us to not only be able to see their finished works of art, but to witness their processes of creating it as well.