Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani designed two major art installations for the Great Hall of the Schulz Museum; this sculpture and the Peanuts Tile Mural. Looking much like a bas-relief sculpture installed on the east wall of the Great Hall, Morphing Snoopy is composed of 43 layers that have been shaped and cut to reveal the evolving personas of Snoopy, beginning with Spike, Schulz’s childhood pet and inspiration for the World-Famous Beagle.

Otani’s design emphasizes Snoopy’s evolution from the 1950s to the 1990s. Translating the original three-dimensional design, initially rendered in layers of cut paper, into this 7,000-pound sculpture took more than two years. This sculpture was constructed with 43 layers of maple veneer and measures 26 feet long, 9.5 feet high, and 10.5 inches deep.

Since 1993, Otani has focused much of his creativity on projects relating directly to Peanuts characters. His fascination with Schulz’s work was returned by Schulz’s admiration for Otani’s whimsical Peanuts-inspired creations.

“To me, Sparky [Schulz] was an artist with whom I could share the pleasures of creativity—a good friend and a great teacher. … These pieces, the Morphing Snoopy and the Tile Mural, are my interpretations of the two themes Sparky [Schulz] and I agreed upon; the evolution of his work and the everyday aspect of doing a daily cartoon for 50 years.” —Yoshiteru Otani