Lawrence “Larry” Charles Moss (born September 25, 1970) is an American artist, writer and educator who works mainly with latex

balloons A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the per ...

. He is known, in the field of large-scale balloon sculpture as

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

, for creating technically and aesthetically challenging sculptures which often incorporate literary,

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

references. In March 2015, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' ran a profile on Moss which identified him as "the best balloon artist in the world." Moss has conceived, organized and constructed large-scale balloon installations in North America, South America,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and Asia, including: the world's first piloted flying balloon sculpture, Balloon Manor (a large-scale haunted house made entirely from balloons) and the world's largest, non-round balloon sculpture (see "Soccer Players"). The latter earned Moss and fellow artist Royal Sorell a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

and was featured on an episode of the

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

TV series. Moss recently set a second world record at London's Brick 2014 event, erecting a 20-foot-tall balloon replica of a

LEGO minifigure A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as ...

that has been recognized in ''Guinness World Records 2016''. Moss is also the founder of one of the first 50, non-academic websites established on the internet: BalloonHQ.com, an online community and resource for amateur and professional balloon artists. He currently owns and operates Airigami, LLC, with his wife and business partner, Designer Kelly Cheatle.

Early life and education

Moss grew up in Queens, NY, and studied music at

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Ce ...

(as featured in the movie ''“Fame”''). Moss graduated from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

with an undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics/Computer Science and a master's degree in Elementary Education and has worked as a programmer.

Major works

Balloon HQ

In 1992, Moss started an email discussion list for balloon twisters. In 1994, those listings were archived online and visual content was added, marking the official launch of ''BalloonHQ.com''. As internet usage exploded in the late 1990s, nearly every serious balloon artist joined the BalloonHQ Community. This prompted Moss, its founder, to partner with Sheena Beaverson and Mark Balzer, who helped administer the site. Site discussions led to the first balloon twisting convention (T-Jam 1999), the first international balloon art photo contest and the free dissemination of balloon art ideas and designs. Today, in addition to sustaining an important industry dialogue, BalloonHQ calls attention to key industry events and provides members with access to customizable portfolios and specialized educational materials. On an annual basis, Moss communicates with and advises an estimated 500,000 site visitors.

World Record

In 2000, Moss and Sorell were commissioned to create a world-record-sized balloon sculpture in Moi, Belgium. They designed and depicted a scene showing two soccer players kicking a ball into a goal. At the time, the sculpture was the largest non-round balloon sculpture in the world. It was constructed of more than 40,750 inflated latex balloons. The installation was built without framing, line or glue and relied only on traditional

balloon twisting Balloon modelling or balloon twisting is the shaping of special modelling balloons into almost any given shape, often a balloon animal. People who create balloon animals and other twisted balloon decoration sculptures are called Twisters, Ballo ...

methods. Forty-two additional crew members and more than 640 man-hours were required to construct the sculptural piece, which stood tall and was roughly wide. Each of the latex soccer players stood an unprecedented tall.

World’s First Piloted Balloon Sculpture

In July 2003, Moss orchestrated the creation of the “Fantastic Flying Octopus” - an impressive, air-bound balloon sculpture that was piloted by John Ninomiya. A 23-member balloon artist team, an eight-member flight crew and hundreds of community members helped build and launch the first-ever, piloted, latex balloon sculpture (which took five days and 700 man hours to complete). Nearly 20,000 twisting balloons were assembled by artists from around the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and Canada to create the "Fantastic Flying Octopus," with several thousands of people showing up to observe construction and the eventual launch of the

cluster balloon Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons. Unlike traditional hot-air balloons, where a single large balloon is equipped with vents enabling altitude control, ...

craft, in Sodus Bay, NY. It was powered solely by wind and of

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

Balloon Manor

Beginning in 2004, Moss shifted his focus to "Balloon Manor" – a haunted house made entirely of latex balloons. Moss organized and led a design team of professional balloon artists and community volunteers to build, promote and run the functional,

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

-themed balloon installation. Each life-sized structure required more than 100,000 balloons and 50 crew members to build. "Balloon Manor" attracted 10,000-plus visitors annually through 2008 before being put on hold. On November 10, 2013, Moss and Cheatle completed a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to fund a revival of the popular "Balloon Manor" concept. The first subsequent installation, "The VERY Tall Tale of Jack & His Beanstalk," was a latex adaptation of the English

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

" (aka "Jack the Giant Slayer"). Built in the historic Sibley Building in downtown Rochester, NY, between February 1 and 4, 2014, it featured a five-story beanstalk topped by a castle that appeared to be floating on balloon clouds.

Airigami, LLC

In 2005, Moss launched Airigami, LLC, through which he conceives and constructs creative content made entirely of balloons. Projects range from life-sized, individual sculptures to record-breaking, on-site installations for use at national and international museums (i.e., The Strong National Museum of Play, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Rochester Museum and Science Center), art galleries (i.e., Phelps Arts Center), trade shows and more. Several large-scale creations conceived, designed and produced by Airigami have appeared in promotional videos, award-winning illustrations, animation formats and TV programs. The company's air-filled recreations of master works like “ Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeerr, “

American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the ''American Gothic'' House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people efancied shoul ...

” by Grant Wood and Sandro Botticelli's “ The Birth of Venus” have helped distinguish Moss and Cheatle as masters in their own right.

Other appearances

Moss and Cheatle were both featured on the December 24, 2013, "Pop, the Tragic Dragon" episode of the A&E reality TV series "

Shipping Wars ''Shipping Wars'' is a reality television series that aired on A&E from January 10, 2012 to April 29, 2015. Season 9 premiered on November 30, 2021 with a new cast of shippers. The show follows various independent shippers who have discovered tha ...

." The show documented the over-the-road, bubble-wrapped transport of a 20 ft. wide, 10-foot-high

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

made entirely of artfully-bended latex balloons, by Moss and Cheatle, for the Brooklyn Children's Museum in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, NY. Its shipment, from Upstate N.Y., was overseen by Christopher Hanna and Robbie Welsh, representing the Strong Museum of Play. The show's crew successfully delivered the dragon sculpture, with minimal damage, under Moss and Cheatle's direction.

Educator

Larry Moss is a popular industry educator. He has taught balloon art in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He is also the author of several books and has designed balloon kits which are popular among children and adults worldwide.

Publications

*''BalloonHQ.com'' (website, 1992 to present) - The largest balloon art resource on the Internet, BalloonHQ provides an estimated 25,000 weekly visitors with information, advice and resources. *Twisting History: Lessons in Balloon Sculpting (paperback, 1995 - Parma Publishing) *Attack of the Demon: Large Scale Balloon Art and Other Advanced Balloon Twisting Techniques (CD-ROM, 1999 - Fooled Ya Productions) *Balloonicature: The Many Faces of Balloon Art (CD-ROM, 2000 - Parma Publishing) *Flying an Octopus: Raising Balloon Art to New Heights (DVD, 2003 - Tim Beyer Productions) *Balloon Architecture (paperback and kit, 2007 - Metro Books) *Climb Inside (paperback, 2007 - Perfect Paperback) *Balloon Engineering: Build 10 of the Coolest Places in the World (paperback, 2009 - Metro Books)

References

External links

airigami.com

BalloonManor.com

BalloonHQ.com

howtocatchamouse.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Larry 1970 births Living people University of Rochester alumni People from Queens, New York American performance artists Balloon artists