KITES - C. 1974–1978

In addition to the many grounded works of Art-In-Architecture that Van Sant designed and made during the early 1970s, he also became the acknowledged father of modern kite-making at this time.

Using contemporary materials to make enormous, multi-part “sky sculptures,” he shared his extraordinary constructions at solo exhibitions and demonstrations in the United States, Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia.

Explaining his approach to art in a 1973 interview, Van Sant stated: “Art is no longer a luxury but part of our daily life. The artist must create works that make our world more vital and alive.”

In 1972, having just finished a large concrete mural for Taiwan’s new Civil Aeronautics Building, Van Sent met kite-maker Mr. Wong, who showed him the ancient craft. Impressed by Mr. Wong’s skill, generosity, and the sheer beauty of his kites, Van Sant decided that he too wanted to make them. As he explained in 2012, “I got tired of making judgments about art. The question with a kite is, will the damn thing fly?” 

After some initial attempts with bamboo and silk however, Van Sant realized that conventional materials could not make the colorful geometric structures that soared in his mind’s eye, so he started to look for alternatives. 

Fortunately for the artist, the Browning Arms Company wanted to end a venture into arrows and fishing rods. Realizing that fiberglass rods would make a perfect bamboo replacement, Van Sant bought Browning’s entire $80,000 inventory for $5,000.

Sporting goods also provided a silk replacement in the form of ripstop nylon. A lightweight, near indestructible material most often used for boat sails, it seemed a perfect choice until Van Sant realized that it would not take color. Happily, his contacts at the 7K Color Corporation devised some new dyes to solve the problem.

With the framing, fabric, and pigment that he needed, Van Sant spent the next three years creating the enormous, vivid sky sculptures he had envisioned in Taiwan. By 1976, he was ready to show them to the world. Beginning with an exhibition and demonstrations in the UK, hosted by London’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Van Sant toured a kite-focused solo exhibition to locations in the US, Holland, Hawaii, France, Ireland, Sweden, and Australia.

For Van Sant, kite making was not only about engineering, innovation, and pleasure, it was also a matter of experiencing intimacy with the natural world. As the artist’s friend kite-maker George Peters has explained: “Kite flying is a celebration using the breath of this glorious planet as a dancing partner."

 Although the artist would not sell his kites, saying “I simply make and fly them for my pleasure and the pleasure of my friends,” their impact rippled far beyond his circle of intimates. Ron Moulton, founder of the British Kite Flying Association, credited Van Sant’s 1970s exhibitions for a reawakening of interest in kite flying and for the introduction of curvaceous outlines to the West, where straight lines dominated kite design. “Tom changed that thinking,” wrote Moulton in 1997, and through his innovations “the modern ripstop/fiberglass rod kites were born!”  As Designer’s West Magazine phrased it in 1977: “He brought to life the most dramatic forms in kite history. They have no forerunners and, quite possibly, may have no descendants capable of outshining them.”