Pepsy M. Kettavong
Pepsy stands beside the centerpiece of his installation, "Lynching in America." Photo by James Bogue
His work has captured some of America's finest figures and darkest days—from grand bronze statues to grim, abstract art installations. But in every piece, the common thread is this Rochester sculptor's passion for social justice.
It's fitting that some of Pepsy's best-known works—monuments to local historic figures such as Nathaniel Rochester, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony—are on permanent exhibit in local parks.
Why? He admires the philosophy of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer behind Rochester's Highland Park, Manhattan's Central Park, and many others.
Pepsy“Olmstead said, 'you know what, I'm going to create a park where the richest person and the poorest person can walk the same path,'” Pepsy says.
In that spirit, Pepsy's studio sits on Anthony Square Park. His workspace is a stone's throw from his public sculpture of Douglass and Anthony sitting down to tea, as well as the Susan B. Anthony House itself.
The neighborhood is also home to the recently opened Frederick Douglass Resource Center, where Pepsy's most recent work, “Lynching in America,” was shown last winter, the first in a series of three shows Pepsy envisions. The next two will focus on starving children and human trafficking, respectively.
“My goal is to bring out some dark issues and have an impact,” he says.
For the first installation, Pepsy lined a cavernous gallery with actual photos of early-twentieth century lynchings that show people of all ages celebrating as corpses swing from trees. In a startling twist, he interspersed the photos with the accessories of a Sunday picnic—checkered cloths, apple pie, dishes. A thought-provoking commentary on the bliss of ignorance.
To build the giant noose for "Lynching in America," Pepsy and his team painstakingly applied thousands of strands of twine to the sculpture, effectively simulating oversized rope. Photo by James BogueBut the centerpiece of the show was a breathtaking, 20-foot noose suspended from the rafters that took weeks to construct and position.
His heart for the plight of the oppressed undoubtedly springs from his own childhood. Born in Laos, Pepsy and his family fled the country in 1980, living in a Thai refugee camp for two years before immigrating to the U.S. in the winter of 1982. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1995.
But it was Pepsy's move to a diverse city neighborhood that awakened his desire to make art that reflects many perspectives and moves people to action, he says.
Pepsy believes so strongly in making his art accessible to people that he first looks to his audience to inform his work. He often invites people from the community to explore the meaning and the potential impact of a planned project.
People help shape the installation, and also become a living element to it: Pepsy captures the conversations and presents them in a short film to provide context for folks who come to the exhibit.
“I want to be a student and learn from my audience.”
See more: An interview with Pepsy on WXXI
Say hi: pepsymk2@yahoo.com