Clockwise from top left: Fight in the Dog, Glory to Ukraine, Peace to Ukraine, War Dogs, War Dogs, Glory to Ukraine, Peace to Ukraine
(photo by Kim Lindaberry)
The current war in Ukraine is inspiring a variety of responses from artists worldwide. Aware that Ukrainians need massive amounts of humanitarian aid, Kim Lindaberry — Kansas City sculptor, ceramicist, props artisan, photographer and digital expert — took to the internet and created a series of logos related to the conflict that could be placed on clothing and ordered online. The proceeds go to not-for-profits involved with Ukrainian relief projects.
Lindaberry, a Kansas City Art Institute alum who holds an MFA from Georgia State University, worked for nine years in the set department for Missouri Repertory Theater and taught art at Johnson County Community College, KCAI, and UMKC before becoming head of the art department at Longview Community College. He has also worked as a consultant for local architectural firms.
He now works full-time as an artist, and said he decided to raise funds for Ukraine because “This whole situation in Ukraine has made me really uncomfortable in my own skin. The reality that this war even happened should leave us all uneasy.”
Lindaberry researched how to put together an online fundraising campaign and came across the merchandise platform Bonfire.
“Using a Direct to Print process,” Lindaberry explains, “they supply on-demand clothing items like t-shirts and sweatshirts with artist imagery. What I really like about them is they will handle the online presence of the campaign store as well as transferring the proceeds from the sale of these items directly to verified not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. That was exactly what I wanted.”
So far Lindaberry has created four designs, all based on the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, some of them incorporating Ukrainian slogans, their national emblem, national language, or the image of a sunflower, Ukraine’s national flower.
“The item design campaign is set up to be open-ended,” Lindaberry explains. “So much damage has been done that relief for Ukraine will be needed far into the future, so I anticipate that I will add new merchandise designs to continue aid relief.”
This project is appropriately tied to Lindaberry’s artwork and world view.
For the last few years, he has focused on his series the “Travelers,” sculptures of hermaphroditic figures in various colors, sculpted in a variety of sizes, materials and colors. Some are in niches, some are in boats, or on stands, and groups of them are often pictured together in digital prints of various dimensions. There are also male and female couples.
“My ‘Travelers’ go between worlds and traverse the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and transcendent aspects of our nature,” Lindaberry explains. “They are mortals. They are gods. They travel between the past, the present and the future. They are our ancestors. They are us.
“To me, we are all Travelers,” Lindaberry says. “And one reason we must help the Ukrainians is because they are also us.”
For the t-shirts and sweatshirts, visit the Ukrainian Relief Merchandise Link: https://www.bonfire.com/store/kim-lindaberry/; for more about Kim Lindaberry, visit www.kimlindaberry.com/ShowKase/
