“Of the 38 major pieces I’ve made in the last 10 years, two still exist. Perhaps I ought to start making still-lifes of flowers.” Rockne Krebs, 1977, The Washington Post.

‘Rockne Krebs is recognized as one of Washington’s finest artists.  Krebs “Of the 38 major pieces I’ve made in the last 10 years, two still exist.  Perhaps I ought to start making still-lifes of flowers.”’  *1

Art International, 1974. Rite de Passage, by Rockne Krebs, 1971.

Rite de Passage, in honor of Mrs. Edgar B. Stern, a gift by the Stern family to the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Art International, May 1974 XVIII/5.  Cover photograph: Passage 5 from Rite de Passage, an argon laser work by Rockne Krebs, installed in the portico of the New Orleans Museum in 1971.  

“I think of these as pieces which you experience in total but see only in sequence or passages.  The experience is a remembered experience, almost as a piece of music of which you hear the progression.  In this case you see the progression of the piece and your final total experience is one of memory.”  
Rockne Krebs, 1970 *2

 “’Crazy, man!’ is the way young people describe it as the beam dances merrily as it bounces off trees, the waters of the lagoon…” *3

Drawing by Rockne Krebs, Rite de Passage, New Orleans Museum of Art.

The Art Gallery Magazine, November 1971.  
Magazine cover, drawing by Rockne Krebs of his piece Rite de Passage at the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA.  
"One of the more spectacular accomplishments to this month’s re-opening of New Orleans’ old Isaac Delgado Museum promises to be a laser beam sculpture by Rockne Krebs.  The artist’s conception of what the work will look like in action appears on our cover.”

“I was disheartened to read Rockne’s 1977 statement, that of the thirty-eight major pieces he had made, only four were still extant.

Rockne’s sobering quote speaks volumes about the temporal nature of all art.  However, there is one piece that certainly exists and has become a touchstone for me.  Miami Line is a signature Krebs light sculpture that stretches for a third of a mile along the under edge of a Metrorail overpass in downtown Miami ….”  *4
William Dunlap, Dec. 2, 2011

“...Krebs’s made one feel extremely happy and proud to be alive at a particular time and place…”  *5

- HK

*1.  Richard, Paul.   Making It as An Artist, The Washington Post, 1977.  
*2.  The Sixth National Sculpture Conference, 1970, National Sculpture Center, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.  Edited by Elden C. Tefft, published 1971.  Published transcript of Krebs’ lecture.
*3.  Griffin, Thomas.  One-the Beam Museum Draws ‘Em Like Moths, The States-Item New Orleans, 1971.
*4.  Harrison, Carol.  Rockne Krebs Photographs + Interpretations, 2013. 
*5.  Forgey, Benjamin.  Art Life on the Edges, essay, Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990, 2013.