February 1985. Painted granite, painted steel. Dimensions: 9.5 × 3 × 3 in (24 × 8 × 8 cm). Private collection Washington, DC.
Blue Collar Column represents another relatively rare use of the human figure in my sculpture during this period. Its tall, slender steel structure—with an implied body, shoulders, and head—suggests a standing figure without becoming literally representational. The title reinforces this association, while “blue collar” connects the figure to labor and the industrial character of the steel itself. The work retains my continuing interest in balance, assemblage, and the expressive possibilities of found and fabricated materials.
For many years I resisted acknowledging figurative references in my otherwise abstract work. By 1998, with my solo exhibition Acknowledging the Figure at SUNY Plattsburgh, I accepted the figure as a valid and important avenue of expression within my sculpture. As I wrote for that exhibition, the figure could provide a framework or “point of entrance” into an otherwise abstract work, adding another layer of association and meaning. Blue Collar Column, made thirteen years earlier, was an early indication of that developing direction.
February 1985. Painted granite, painted steel. Dimensions: 9.5 × 3 × 3 in (24 × 8 × 8 cm). Private collection Washington, DC.
Blue Collar Column represents another relatively rare use of the human figure in my sculpture during this period. Its tall, slender steel structure—with an implied body, shoulders, and head—suggests a standing figure without becoming literally representational. The title reinforces this association, while “blue collar” connects the figure to labor and the industrial character of the steel itself. The work retains my continuing interest in balance, assemblage, and the expressive possibilities of found and fabricated materials.
For many years I resisted acknowledging figurative references in my otherwise abstract work. By 1998, with my solo exhibition Acknowledging the Figure at SUNY Plattsburgh, I accepted the figure as a valid and important avenue of expression within my sculpture. As I wrote for that exhibition, the figure could provide a framework or “point of entrance” into an otherwise abstract work, adding another layer of association and meaning. Blue Collar Column, made thirteen years earlier, was an early indication of that developing direction.
