The project is one of the many projects created locally by Kick Start My Art and gives artists the platform to present their art in a different way. In teaming up with Red Bull, these artists will benefit from the national exposure created by the NBC-televised Signature Series event.
"The idea of what gives you wings made me think of my new-born son and at this point, with the stresses of life, having a family brings you happiness and gives you a whole new idea of what life is about," said Dan Lasata, a resident of St. Petersburg who first gained local notoriety for his work on skateboards.
Lasata's work depicts a man and a woman close together with images of wings surrounding them.
Over the next two days, the Wake Art Project, which includes 19 works of art, will be on display outside the Tampa Convention Center for the public to view and place their vote for most creative during the Red Bull Wake Open.
- Nicole Abbett
- CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD): Group shot of athletes competing in the wakeboard competition. They'll be choosing the winner.
"It gives the art community a chance to attract different people who wouldn't normally view art," said Chad Cardoza, who is the founder of Kick Start My Art along with his wife, Susie, as well as curators of the event. "Then, you have a group of people from the art community come out to a sporting event that might not normally come out to a wakeboard event. So, it's cross contamination in a positive way."
The four winning boards as voted on by the public will serve as trophy prizes to the top wake athletes competing in the Wake Open.
Today, the Wake Open enters its second day of competition with the big air portion. The big air competition introduces a ramp-to-ramp feature this year in which the wakeboarders test their limits of insanity.
On Saturday, the final portion of the event — the water park competition — will be televised live on NBC. For more information, visit www.redbullsignatureseries.com.
The schedule is as listed:
Fri.
10 a.m.-2 p.m. practice
3 p.m. Big Air competition
7-7:30 p.m. - Big Air Finals
Sat.
Noon - 3 p.m. Water Park Competition
3-3:30 p.m. - Autograph Session @ Tampa Convention Center/Vendor Village area
4 p.m. - Water Park semis
5-5:30 p.m. - Wake Park Finals
5:45 p.m. - Awards Presentation @ start area / Knights Point
The following is a list of the artists who are competing in the Wake Art Project:
Wake Art Project Artists
Chad Cardoza - Riverview
Cristian Cintora - Tampa
Theresa Crout - Riverview
Chris Deacon - Lake Magdalene
Jacqueline Ann Frierman - Carrollwood
Ken Hancock - New Tampa
Marlon Huynh - Tampa
Nicole Kibert - Seminole Heights, Tampa
Dan Lasata - St. Petersburg
Sabdiasep Mercado-Adorno - Beal AFB, Calif.
P$YNNER & Terry Pipitone - Tampa
Chris Reason - Orlando
Christian Ricca & Jennifer Tran - Clearwater
Chris Rosenbaum - Nashville, Tenn.
RJ Runas - South Tampa
Michelle Sawyer & Tony Krol - Tampa
Angus Shafer - South Tampa
Wade Slater - Tampa
Krysteena Wakefield - South Tampa
- Nicole Abbett
- WAKE ARTIST: Dan Lasata and his entry.
On Tuesday, some of the best artists with bay area ties gathered together at Knights Point on Harbour Island for the Wake Art Project. Inspired by the Red Bull-branded question, "What Gives You Wings?", painters, photographers and sculptors mingled with wakeboarders in preparation for the Red Bull Wake Open to showcase their uniquely designed wakeboards — boards shaped like Pez dispensers, painted with the Marlboro Man, sculpted in Dali fashion.
