Art That Really Pops

If you think balloon sculptures are just for children’s birthday parties, check out the work of artist Jason Hackenwerth.

The 39-year-old New York artist creates extraordinary, weird, whimsical – and sometimes just plain scary – figures made up of thousands of ordinary party balloons. (He orders them in bulk, 5,000 at a time.) Some of his creepy creatures are so large he has to “wrestle” them into place, he told the UK’s The Telegraph.

His inflatable works, which take about three days to make, resemble monsters from the ocean’s depths or creatures from another planet. His largest one: a 40-foot-long tube-like blue bug he calls "Leviathan." Others are almost cinematic: "Alien Rainforest" looks like a scene from "Jurassic Park," featuring a spiny green trumpet-shaped creature with feelers, photographed in a mist. (To see a photo gallery, click here.)

"My mother taught me how to twist balloons for street performance," Hackenwerth told the ideas nonprofit TED in an interview. "Originally she made me a clown outfit and I made poodles and swords on the street for kids."

Armed with background in fine art and a masters in painting – and "a curious mind" – he sent up trial balloons on the subway in New York City.

"I was amazed at people’s response to them," he told TED. "I realized that I was on to something, and a way of making people smile and feel so happy." (To watch a video of him at work, click here.)

Once made, he often takes the works to forests or beaches and photographs them. He's displayed his works at places such as the Coachella music festival and the Venice Biennale.

He hasn't been able to quit his day job yet, though.

"Even just this past January, you know, from time to time I had to go out to Times Square and twist balloons in freezing weather for grocery money," he told TED. "But the exposure is good."

And yes, he does get asked about doing kids' birthday parties.

He told Don't Panic magazine: "People do still ask, but usually as a lame joke."

If he conjured up one of his creatures, it seems the joke would be on them.

Photo courtesy C-Monster via Flickr.