Anima Moon is a proposed permanent public artwork by Joel Kuennen, designed for Pettibone Park on the Mississippi River, directly across from Riverside Park downtown La Crosse. The sculpture will reflect moonlight onto the river and track the Moon as it moves across the night sky, creating a quiet, shared civic presence visible from both sides of the river.

Spherical sculptural surface inlaid with irregular mother-of-pearl shell fragments set in black bitumen, mounted on a metal stand.

Support This Project

Your tax-deductible donation helps bring this work to life and supports the design, fabrication, and installation of a permanent public artwork created specifically for La Crosse, WI. Pump House Regional Arts Center is pleased to be the fiscal sponsor of Anima Moon by Joel Kuennen.

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Anima Moon is a site-responsive public sculpture that reflects moonlight back onto the Mississippi River, re-centering attention on natural cycles that shape both the landscape and human life. Installed near the river’s edge, the work follows the Moon’s movement across the sky, creating a subtle and changing interaction between light, water, and time.

The sculpture consists of a parabolic form inlaid with polished mother-of-pearl panels, mounted on a motorized base programmed to track the Moon. Rather than functioning as a monument or spectacle, the work is designed as a steady, recurring presence—something encountered over time through walking, biking, gathering, or quiet observation.

Anima Moon was developed in consultation with the City of La Crosse Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department. Materials and construction methods were selected for durability, environmental consideration, and long-term stewardship.

At its core, the project invites reflection rather than instruction. It offers a shared experience that connects the river, the night sky, and the people who live alongside them—an artwork meant to be returned to again and again.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

Anima Moon Fundraising Reception

Join us for an intimate early-evening reception in support of Anima Moon, a forthcoming public artwork by Joel Kuennen for La Crosse’s Mississippi River landscape.
 
Anima Moon is a large moon-tracking sculpture surfaced with mother-of-pearl, connecting the Moon, the river, freshwater mussels, regional history, and the shared civic imagination of La Crosse. The work invites viewers to slow down, look up, and reconsider our relationship to the living world and the celestial bodies that shape earthly rhythms.
 
The evening will feature live music by Mike Munson, performing from Perihelion Day, his celestial, acoustic instrumental album focused on beauty, distance, and the relationship between humankind and the natural world. Guests will also enjoy catered hors d’oeuvres, a sculptural Moon-inspired cheese table, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, sun tea, and brief remarks from the artist about the project’s vision, site, materials, and next phase of support.
 
This gathering is an opportunity to learn more about the artwork, meet others invested in public art and ecological imagination, and contribute directly to bringing Anima Moon into being.

Tickets: 
Reception Ticket: $100
Supporter Ticket: $100 – Can’t make it? Purchase this ticket to help support the Anima Moon project. No admission is included.

Date: September 5th, 2026

Time: 4:00–6:00 PM

Location: Comfortably Lost, W4256 State Road 33, La Crosse, WI 54601
*Comfortably Lost is wheelchair-accessible.

Capacity: 75 guests

All proceeds support the development, fabrication, and installation of Anima Moon.

TICKETS