Blurred Lines: Parade of Hearts KC
If you live anywhere near Kansas City, you’ve probably seen the iconic logo of a heart with KC on its front. In summer 2021, this logo became the center of a public art project called Parade of Hearts. The idea was simple: unify the city by calling its artists to design large versions of these hearts and display them all over the metro.
Being based in Kansas City, we were familiar with Parade of Hearts, but it wasn’t until Neal of Heidt and Depth (who also happens to be our cousin) approached us about applying that we considered submitting a design. Neal specializes in place making for clients looking to do good in their community, so Parade of Hearts was a perfect collaboration of his strengths and ours. Still in the midst of the pandemic, we brainstormed via zoom and came up with several concepts to explore.
We were attracted to Parade of Hearts’ mission to unify Kansas City. As we dug into this idea, we came into a vision of blurring the geographical lines that make up Kansas City and how we could incorporate neon light to do so. Dylan says it best in the concept writeup included in our design application:
Kansas City is defined by some lines while defying others. Rivers carve distinct physical barriers through the land. State and municipal borders are perceived lines which are emphasized by roads and neighborhoods. Historic and contemporary cultural division is evident throughout the city, emphasizing the complex human makeup of the city.
In the spirit of bringing the members of our city together, I envision a Kansas City in which lines are blurred. Can this be a home that embraces unity while enriching the groups and individuals of which it is composed? Public art such as the Parade of Hearts campaign is a fantastic access point to a re-thinking of our surroundings and the lines that define them.
Using the shape of the KC Heart to represent the Kansas City region, I broke the space into three distinct colors. These color regions represent the spaces defined by the point where the state line meets the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers. Additionally, I broke the letters “KC” and the shape of the heart into their constituent geometric parts - angles, arcs, and lines. I arranged these parts evenly throughout the field of color - communicating a visual sense of playfulness and a conceptual notion of unity through variety.
Blurring the lines: This rendering shows how we wanted to blur the lines of the different geographic regions of Kansas City while incorporating color and the components of the “KC” letters.
Continuing along the concept of representing our city with the heart, we dove into how light and color played a part in this design:
To construct this piece, I envision integrating neon light inside and outside the heart. The color of the light within the heart conveys the warmth and liveliness of the city. Additionally, its neon glow will offer one experience to the viewers during the day and a different experience at night, much like the city we call home.
The piece is a vision of complexity, beauty, and potential; the potential of a thriving, genuine community.
The rendering of the neon heart submitted in our Parade of Hearts application.
The call for artists opened in fall of 2021 and received 700 design entries. Of the 700 designs, 123 artists were chosen, including ours. We were thrilled to be able to bring this design to life.
Our heart arrived as bare fiberglass. We left portions of it unpainted in order to let neon light illuminate it from inside.
In January 2022 we received our giant fiberglass heart and got to work painting, bending glass, and wiring up the inside of the heart so that the neon could illuminate from inside. The process took lots of advance planning and careful work. Nothing beat the moment we were able to plug in the heart and take in its colorful glow.
The heart was on display in Westside KC spring 2022 and received over 14,000 visitors according to the Parade of Hearts app. In June 2022, the heart was purchased and will now live on in a private collection.
