DISCO BALL
Holly created the #SixFootDiscoBall for the Washington DC Funk Parade, an annual music and art street festival that celebrates funk music and the diverse cultural history of the U Street neighborhood. The Disco Ball was a featured element of the Birth of the City activation which paid homage to the 70s era of DC Home Rule movement when rinks like the National Arena Roller Rink (now a Harris Teeter on Kalorama Road) served as a mecca for predominantly African-American skaters from across the Eastern seaboard to showcase virtuosic moves or simply socialize in a welcoming setting. The Disco Ball led the 2016 parade, a symbolic object to “reflect” the faces, cultures and generations that make up the city. It also appeared at the Anacostia Skate Park as part of the official celebration for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
The Six Foot Disco Ball is made from 36 layers of Styrofoam and 1,300 individually hand-cut squares of “carnival mirror,” which is a highly-flexible reflective material. It took a team of four artists led Holly Bass a little over a week to cut, assemble and sand two Styrofoam hemispheres and glue on the reflective squares. The ball splits in half, into two hemispheres for easier transportation.