January 1981. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 70 × 38 × 12 in (178 × 97 × 30 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Vinalhaven Mantel Arch II, 1981
Vinalhaven Mantel Arch II directly followed Vinalhaven Mantel Arch I and grew out of my Arch and Prop sculptures and marks a transitional moment in my tensegrity, or Brute Series. Wanting to lift these works from the floor and give them greater visual presence, I began constructing tall, pedestal-like mantels using the same steel rod employed in the earlier tensegrity works. Two found pieces of granite, gathered from abandoned quarries on Vinalhaven Island off the coast of Maine, are balanced point-to-point to create a precarious arch. Small steel rods welded to either end of the top plate act as retainers, preventing the stones from slipping outward and the arch from collapsing.
Like my earlier tensegrity works, the sculpture depends upon actual gravity, weight, balance, and restraint, creating a sense of real rather than illusionary danger—an approach influenced in part by Richard Serra’s emphasis on the physical reality of sculpture. At the same time, the tall steel framework introduces a more architectural and image-driven presence. Vinalhaven Mantel Arch I and II therefore stands between the direct, structural concerns of the Brute Series and the broader expressive and associative possibilities that would increasingly enter my work over the next several years.
January 1981. Granite, steel. Dimensions: 70 × 38 × 12 in (178 × 97 × 30 cm).
Private collection - Washington, DC
Vinalhaven Mantel Arch II, 1981
Vinalhaven Mantel Arch II directly followed Vinalhaven Mantel Arch I and grew out of my Arch and Prop sculptures and marks a transitional moment in my tensegrity, or Brute Series. Wanting to lift these works from the floor and give them greater visual presence, I began constructing tall, pedestal-like mantels using the same steel rod employed in the earlier tensegrity works. Two found pieces of granite, gathered from abandoned quarries on Vinalhaven Island off the coast of Maine, are balanced point-to-point to create a precarious arch. Small steel rods welded to either end of the top plate act as retainers, preventing the stones from slipping outward and the arch from collapsing.
Like my earlier tensegrity works, the sculpture depends upon actual gravity, weight, balance, and restraint, creating a sense of real rather than illusionary danger—an approach influenced in part by Richard Serra’s emphasis on the physical reality of sculpture. At the same time, the tall steel framework introduces a more architectural and image-driven presence. Vinalhaven Mantel Arch I and II therefore stands between the direct, structural concerns of the Brute Series and the broader expressive and associative possibilities that would increasingly enter my work over the next several years.
