My Sculpture Blog: BB 462222312

Hello Everyone

I know you all just heard from me last week, but it has actually been quite a while since I have released a larger one of a kind work. Partly it is because they just take so very long to design and build (this build stretched to seven months), but it is also because I have been caught up in a line of thinking that has (temporarily) taken me away from this kind of work.

But although the big works have taken a back seat as of late, I am glad to be unveiling this fantastic, and very large, new release. I call it the BB 462222312

For one of my larger works, this piece is unique in that it moves. Well, it spins….but only if you spin it. This fact was the source of a whole lot of internal debate for me, because I usually prefer my larger works to be completely static, with any movement or functionality implied. But for this piece, in this composition, I just could not resist the opportunity.

In fact, the original design was completely static. But once I realized that this piece could potentially spin, and that I could fit the hardware to do so without compromising the original composition, I decided I had nothing to lose on the experiment.

As you can see here, the bearing assembly fits rather handily inside the base tube.

Now I will say again that this piece does not spin on its own. It doesn’t have a motor to drive the rotation, and I am certain for some this will be a missed opportunity. But I do not see it this way.

For this branch of my work, I have embraced a more open interpretation and that means leaving things vague. In my eyes, a whirling motorized piece of sculpture would be just that, and nothing more. I think this piece invites a kind of interpretation, and then, if you are brave enough to reach out and touch it, you are rewarded with the fact that it spins.

Also, I just simply could not live with the compromises this kind of overt mechanization would require. Be it visible wires or belts, or just the idea that the work would be transformed from a piece of largely visual art into an animation or an actual, rather than metaphorical, machine.

It is a tough distinction for me to describe, but for this piece, I did try to have it both ways. And for me, I am quite satisfied.

I am sure for some, I have successfully straddled the line between avoiding too much novelty and humoring a desirable functionality, but I have no doubt that to others, I have simply failed to commit. This suits me just fine, as it is in the ambiguity that I feel these larger pieces find their place.

I also design the collar on the base with a rubber O ring that can be tightened against the body. This gently prevents the work from spinning if one desires to stop the work in a particular position. I wouldn't call it a lock because it can be easily over come, but it does work as a sort of brake.