Interactive Fundraising Sculptures
Quickly Pay For Themselves.
Cashi Stikuntongus

"Cashi" was commissioned by the Detroit Zoo for its new National Amphibian Conservation Center.  The sculpture was designed to receive donations and was installed in June, 2000. Since its installation, it has been receiving an average of twenty dollars a day in donations. It soon paid for itself, and now all the funds go to benefit the Amphibian Taxon Advisory Group of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
"Cashi" is made of fiber glass epoxy over a sturdy steel frame. A sign near the sculpture tells visitors that the sculpture responds  when coins or bills are dropped in its mouth. Original responses were created that relate to amphibians and their habitat and were designed to be amusing, entertaining, and thought provoking.  Most of the thirty-six responses  are short, but four responses are lengthier poems.
For cash strapped organizations, special payment options are available.

A giant head of Vincent van Gogh,  modeled after his Self-portrait with Straw Hat (below left) in the collection of the Detroit Institute Arts, stands seven feet tall on its pedestal.  Naturally, his right ear is missing, but his left ear has a large enough opening that money can be dropped into the head.  This causes him to respond with Dutch accented observations about life and art. There are over one hundred and thirty responses.

It is created of pigmented epoxy fiberglass over a steel frame by artist   Unlike the aforementioned $93 million, most of the money this "van Gogh" shakes loose goes to charity and the art community.   c. The Detroit Institute of Arts This sculpture is available for rent and was "field tested" in the summer of  2001 at an art fair in Grosse Pointe, Michigan where it collected donations of $ 60 dollars a day for a local mental health clinic.

In 1995, the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery at the Detroit Zoo was looking for a way to recycle the gallery guides that it hands out to more than a million people who visit the gallery each year. The artist suggested a receptacle that would respond with a sound as brochures were deposited in it "Brochuri" is the sculpture he created.  A four feet high sculpture made of fiberglass epoxy on a welded steel armature, "Brochuri" is easy to clean and durable enough to withstand the rugged conditions created by the free ranging human primates who visit the Gallery's Hummingbird Butterfly Garden . Visitors marvel at the profusion of flowers and five species of free-flying butterflies. They search the colorful blooms and sculptural fountain for a glimpse of one of a half dozen hummingbirds. Finally, the visitors notice the occasional strange, whooping sound coming from the direction of the exit. As they approach the gallery exit, they see that the sounds are triggered by others depositing their brochures into the mouth of the officious-looking Brochuri Putinhereicus. Visitors are thus encouraged to relinquish their own brochures, and they readily do so.
By the second year, the sculpture paid for itself in reduced printing costs!
The sculpture has now been in place for several years and has exceeded the hopes that inspired the commission.

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