November 1976. Granite, forged steel. Dimensions: 27 × 81 × 46 in (69 × 206 × 117 cm).
Nature of Stone (Crimp) was the first work in my Nature of Stone Series and the third in my tensegrity, or Brute Series. The title describes the physical action of the sculpture: the weight of the found granite literally crimps the forged-steel bars together. Rather than carving the stone or using it to represent something else, I allow its inherent form, mass, and weight—and the structural behavior of the steel—to become the subject of the work. In this sense, Crimp is deliberately self-referential: sculpture about sculpture, assemblage about assemblage.
Gravity and the downward pressure of the stone provide the energy—or “glue”—that holds the sculpture together without welding. As the stone settles, its weight activates the interlocking steel bars, producing tension, compression, and equilibrium. The result is a static energy event—a sculpture held in arrested motion, in which the gravitational force that threatens collapse is redirected to hold the structure together.
November 1976. Granite, forged steel. Dimensions: 27 × 81 × 46 in (69 × 206 × 117 cm).
Nature of Stone (Crimp) was the first work in my Nature of Stone Series and the third in my tensegrity, or Brute Series. The title describes the physical action of the sculpture: the weight of the found granite literally crimps the forged-steel bars together. Rather than carving the stone or using it to represent something else, I allow its inherent form, mass, and weight—and the structural behavior of the steel—to become the subject of the work. In this sense, Crimp is deliberately self-referential: sculpture about sculpture, assemblage about assemblage.
Gravity and the downward pressure of the stone provide the energy—or “glue”—that holds the sculpture together without welding. As the stone settles, its weight activates the interlocking steel bars, producing tension, compression, and equilibrium. The result is a static energy event—a sculpture held in arrested motion, in which the gravitational force that threatens collapse is redirected to hold the structure together.
