RECENT SCULPTURE
PIANO FACE
Piano Face 2015
Parts of a Steinway piano, including two strings (the circles). 24" x 26 ½"
Parts of a Steinway piano, including two strings (the circles). 24" x 26 ½"
A musician friend saw my old Piano Man at our house and asked if I could make a similar piece for him and his wife, that is, a piece out of piano parts. I said I could if he found me the parts. He did, and I did.
Of the large number of wonderful piano parts he got for me from a Steinway repair shop, I selected the ones I could thread onto the piano's wire strings, making no alterations to the pieces, except for gluing them in place with epoxy. The black baling wires hold the strings in place and add a bit of extra rhythm to the face.
My inspiration was from wonderful old Inuit masks of similar structure, with symbolic parts added to a central face. My piece has no symbolic meaning, unless to evoke the playful possibilities of the piano as an instrument of joy.
Of the large number of wonderful piano parts he got for me from a Steinway repair shop, I selected the ones I could thread onto the piano's wire strings, making no alterations to the pieces, except for gluing them in place with epoxy. The black baling wires hold the strings in place and add a bit of extra rhythm to the face.
My inspiration was from wonderful old Inuit masks of similar structure, with symbolic parts added to a central face. My piece has no symbolic meaning, unless to evoke the playful possibilities of the piano as an instrument of joy.
Piano Man 1962
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Inuit Mask
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Inuit Mask
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PIANO MAN #2
PIANO MAN #2 2015
Parts of a Steinway piano 17 ½" x 6" x 4½"
Parts of a Steinway piano 17 ½" x 6" x 4½"
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With some of the pieces left over from Piano Face (above), I made this free-standing figure for Ruth.
Some of the parts, like the arms, move.
Some of the parts, like the arms, move.
ORANGE PEELS
I peeled a small mandarin orange with my fingers, keeping the rind in one piece, and got the first figure in the image above. With its "eye" on top it suggested a figure. With each succeeding orange, the peels came out in different configurations, as different "critters".
I sent the image of the Ten Mandarin Orange Peels to several friends, and one of them asked me to bring her one. Instead of a flat image, I made a sculpture by backing a fresh orange peel with plaster of Paris with a bamboo skewer buried in the plaster for support.
I sent the image of the Ten Mandarin Orange Peels to several friends, and one of them asked me to bring her one. Instead of a flat image, I made a sculpture by backing a fresh orange peel with plaster of Paris with a bamboo skewer buried in the plaster for support.
Mandarin Orange Peel 2015
c. 7½" tall, with plaster backing
c. 7½" tall, with plaster backing
An idea for an enlarged version for Orange County.
MODULAR LAYERS
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These are some digital sketches of an idea for a sculpture relief piece I am now working on.