Christy Rupp (b. 1949)

Working mainly on public installation pieces, Christy Rupp has been raising environmental awareness with her art since the 1970’s.  Her work addresses the relationship between nature and humanity, dispelling the illusion that nature operates for human benefit.  Rupp combines didacticism and humorous — her sculptures often feature cartoony animals and witty titles — elements to convey ecological, economic, political and social concerns successfully.  Trickle Down expresses Rupp’s economic and ecological concerns about twentieth-century America.  The trout with a rusted can beneath a lily pad surface represent both the majority of the American population who received the dregs from Reagan’s trickledown economics plan and the consequences of the water contamination ignored by Reagan era politicians and manufacturers.  The visual appeal of the piece transforms Rupp’s angry critique to a positive effect making her message ultimately more potent. —Joan Marotta (A Second Look: Selections from Four Decades of Western New York Artists, 2002)