Carl Cheng Most people have heard about Christo’s monster Umbrella  project  or Running Fence. Well, my brother Carl, AKA, John Doe Co.does many such things on a slightly smaller scale but still mind-boggling.  His public art projects often grab front page features in the news or on TV. Funny thing is, he doesn't even seek publicity. Early in his career after being in a group photography exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art in the late 60's, when we thought he would become a big time fine art photographer, he changed his interest to sculpture and escaped with his German girl friend to Osaka, Japan and disappeared to  Southeast Asia and India for two years!  His studio is the John Doe Company,  in Santa Monica, CA, producing such Public Art as the monster roller on the right and the projects listed below.

A 14-ton concrete roller, called the Santa Monica Art Tool when  pulled by the City tractor, prints a 2 inch scale generic map called, Walk on LA onto the sand of Santa Monica Beach. When it isn't being pulled, you can see it at the North side of the Santa Monica Pier.

• Water tanks that generate a ballet of bubble formations and, get this!  Acrobatic Ring Bubbles. You can see this at the Exploratorium in San  Francisco.

• In 1978, he created a coin-operated window piece called the Natural Museum  of Modern Art project at the Santa Monica Pier. After putting in your quarter  and pushing a button on the selection board, you peered into a large window to  see a room-size sand table with computer-controlled chicken bones and other  organic objects that drew abstract translations as mechanical drawing arm  moved across the sand. Of course, you could get a refund if you didn't think  it was worth it.

• In 1989, at Capp Street Projects in San Francisco, CA, He flooded the  entire gallery space with water. Called, 66% Water, you could walk around on  the second floor balcony and see changing reflections below that created a  four story space! The quiet water volume occupied 66% of the floor space, the  same % of water in our body in case you were wondering. Oh yes, tables and  chairs that appeared underwater two stories below actually were hung upside  down on the ceiling, and the periodic drops of water and ultra-gradual dimming  lights somehow had a calming effect on the thousands of people touring the  alternative art space.  .

• One of his most recent public art projects, called the Museum of Space  Information, was for the Los Angeles County MTA. At the Redondo/Marine Metro  Station on the elevated Green Line; yes even in car crazy LA they are building  a mass-transit system; two 60 feet satellite sculpture towers greet you while  between them is a curved blue canopy that resembles a giant ocean wave  breaking over the train platform! Within the station are exhibits, core  samples and video monitors presenting what NASA is doing right this minute! On  the walls are planet sculptures, models of the topography of Mars taken from  actual satellite data, while on the platform everything, the floor, benches,  etc., is impregnated with space information diagrams, space hardware, rock  samples and even foot prints from the space shoe of Neil Armstrong's first  moon walk! You've got to see this to believe it!

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On the left is Carl as a  sweet teenager. On the  right he is the infamous Master of the John Doe Company.

 

No, there is nothing you can buy from Carl, i.e..John Doe Co. on this website. But email Carl if you or your organization needs a one-of-kind, art extravaganza…and you are not shy about notoriety.

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