Artist Jimmy Kuenhle walks the streets in an inflatable sculpture

Last year when Jimmy Kuenhle walked the streets of downtown Austin in one of his giant inflatable, wearable, brightly colored creations, the San Antonio-based artist battled wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and ended up being sucked into a parking garage when the wind caused a vacuum effect.

He's not looking to repeat the event when he dons 'You Wear What I Wear,' another of his inflatable suits, tomorrow at noon at Cesar Chavez Street and Congress Avenue and embarks on a random trek. But Kuehnle is hoping to surprise unsuspecting passers-by just as he has in numerous places around the world.

A chance encounter with something as absurd as a guy parading around in giant inflatable abstract balloon is, Kuehnle claims, a great means of breaking up the routine of everyday thinking. Well, at least for a moment. There's no proof that Kuehnle's art antics have led to any major intellectual breakthroughs, though they do garner plenty of attention.

AA-S: What happened at the Fusebox Festival last year when you got sucked into that parking garage?

JK: The day of the Fusebox performance was extremely windy. I did not know if I would be able to even hold the suit down in the wind, let alone walk down the street. People were waiting to see the performance, so I threw caution into the wind, literally, and pushed onward. Multiple times the wind blew me back, and as I passed a parking garage a suction effect dragged me almost 40 feet into the garage. I had no control over my movements once the wind took me. This has happened before in Japan and Finland with 'Big Red.' I designed the current suit, 'You Wear What I Wear,' to be wind resistant and highly maneuverable.

AA-S: What got you started making objects on such a scale?

JK: I dreamed of owning an article of clothing that at a push of a button would expand to fill an entire room. These inflatable suits are along the path to that fantasy. The inflatables allow me to make large work that can be transported on my bicycle. I can put a suit on the back of my bike, ride into a city and within five minutes be one of the largest moving objects in sight.

AA-S: You've said you want to do anything that you can to get out into the streets and change people's thinking. Why?

JK:Our thinking sometimes loses its critical edge and must be reexamined and recharged. We need to encourage empirical thought and rational thought. Rather than walking around with a sandwich board sign (on me) and being written off as a crazy person, the public inflatable suit performances, which walk the line between spectacle and the absurd, are my small contribution to the need for constant requestioning and re-examining our lives and our place in the cosmos.

AA-S: Did you choose your March 12 gig in Austin because it's during both the SXSW Interactive and Film conferences?

JK: It is actually a coincidence that SXSW is starting on the same day, although I look forward to seeing the excitement surrounding the festival. I have performances on Fridays around lunchtime because everyone is in a good mood after lunch on a Friday. The 12 noon start time also allows more people to see the work.

AA-S: How big is 'You Wear What I Wear?'

JK: It is approximately 9 feet by 9 feet by 9 feet and can fit in a small duffel bag that I can strap to the back of my bicycle. The nylon fabric is relatively inexpensive since I buy it in bulk, but I also use 200 to 300 yards per suit because of the internal structure. The largest cost is the labor, which includes lots and lots of sewing. I sew each seam twice to avoid incidents when out in the streets.

jvanryzin@statesman.com; 445-3699

'You Wear What I Wear' a public performance by Jimmy Kuelne

When:Noon Friday

Where: Starts at Cesar Chavez St. and Congress Ave.