June 1984. Slate, steel. Dimensions: 102 × 44 × 41 in (259 × 112 × 104 cm).
Private collection - New Jersey
Slate Totem I, created at my Jersey City studio, was the third of the “closed-base” totems and the first to use slate rather than granite. The work reflects my transition away from the open, interlocking structures of the tensegrity, or Brute Series, toward more solid forms and a greater emphasis on overall image and visual presence. A steel wedge salvaged from heavy construction machinery is prominently integrated between the two halves of the pyramidal base, acting as a structural fastener that prevents them from spreading. Its exposed function deliberately recalls my earlier work, where how a sculpture held itself together was central to both its structure and meaning.
The Totem Series grew from the tall, eroded rock spires I encountered after moving West to Laramie, Wyoming, particularly the way they rose from sloping accumulations of fallen material at their bases. Here that geological relationship is distilled into the contrast between the rugged vertical slate and low geometric steel pyramid. While Slate Totem I retains the structural emphasis of my earlier work through its exposed wedge connector, structure is increasingly placed in service of a more unified and evocative sculptural image.
June 1984. Slate, steel. Dimensions: 102 × 44 × 41 in (259 × 112 × 104 cm).
Private collection - New Jersey
Slate Totem I, created at my Jersey City studio, was the third of the “closed-base” totems and the first to use slate rather than granite. The work reflects my transition away from the open, interlocking structures of the tensegrity, or Brute Series, toward more solid forms and a greater emphasis on overall image and visual presence. A steel wedge salvaged from heavy construction machinery is prominently integrated between the two halves of the pyramidal base, acting as a structural fastener that prevents them from spreading. Its exposed function deliberately recalls my earlier work, where how a sculpture held itself together was central to both its structure and meaning.
The Totem Series grew from the tall, eroded rock spires I encountered after moving West to Laramie, Wyoming, particularly the way they rose from sloping accumulations of fallen material at their bases. Here that geological relationship is distilled into the contrast between the rugged vertical slate and low geometric steel pyramid. While Slate Totem I retains the structural emphasis of my earlier work through its exposed wedge connector, structure is increasingly placed in service of a more unified and evocative sculptural image.
