Keith Sonnier

Back Room: Peter Coffin "Light Organ"

Keith Sonnier made the inflated series for his MFA thesis exhibition at Douglas College, Rutgers University in 1966.

The materials ranged from plastic, canvas, cheesecloth, sculpt-metal, satin, velvet, string, metal, wood, air inflation systems, rigid plastic pipes, expandable plastic pipes, mylar and air pumps.

There is also a large series of drawings and collages from the same year that Keith refers to collectively as the Early Rutgers Drawings. Some of the sculptures are easily recognizable in the drawings.

Keith Sonnier, born in Mamou, Louisiana in 1941, received his BA at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1963.