January 1991. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 9 x 10.5 x 9 in. Private Collection.
Loop continues my interest in tools and implements as extensions of the hand and in what I have described as their “raw, efficient beauty of form dictated by function.” Here I use an actual C-clamp, celebrating both its distinctive circular shape and its practical purpose. Combined with rough granite and fabricated steel, the familiar tool becomes an integral part of the sculpture rather than simply a found object.
As in Kouros, (S-89-14) and later Clamp (S-93-06) where I incorporated a real vise and larger clamp, the tool remains fully functional: the screw of the C-clamp is tightened against the granite and actually helps hold the stone in place. Function and image therefore become one—the physical act of clamping is made visible as part of the sculpture, bringing together my continuing concerns with tools, assembly, pressure, and the relationship between stone and steel.
January 1991. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 9 x 10.5 x 9 in. Private Collection.
Loop continues my interest in tools and implements as extensions of the hand and in what I have described as their “raw, efficient beauty of form dictated by function.” Here I use an actual C-clamp, celebrating both its distinctive circular shape and its practical purpose. Combined with rough granite and fabricated steel, the familiar tool becomes an integral part of the sculpture rather than simply a found object.
As in Kouros, (S-89-14) and later Clamp (S-93-06) where I incorporated a real vise and larger clamp, the tool remains fully functional: the screw of the C-clamp is tightened against the granite and actually helps hold the stone in place. Function and image therefore become one—the physical act of clamping is made visible as part of the sculpture, bringing together my continuing concerns with tools, assembly, pressure, and the relationship between stone and steel.
