Capsule

It has been such a long interval since my last blog post that I simply have too much to write about.

I will dedicate this post to the single topic of Capsule, the new sculpture by Christina and me, which we just installed in Arroyo Seco last week, and then I'll write another post soon on various other ancillary topics.

About a week ago I tried to start this post by writing something like "Christina and I are just a few days away from finishing Capsule, and boy oh boy has it been hard to find time to write." But... haha... that was as far as I got!

Now, a week later, we are finished with Capsule and I do finally have some time.

We had a really incredible social media and internet team backing us up on this, so there is lots of info and pictures online at the Capsule Instagram page and also at the Capsule website.

What I'll try to give here is more of a 'backstage' experience of it.

There were a lot of 'firsts' in this sculpture.

This was the first sculpture Christina and I have built for our local community.

This was the first time we'd built something so fast... on such a short timeline.

And, perhaps most significantly, it was the first time Christina and I had ever worked collaboratively on a piece.

Because of the extremely tight timeline, the idea for the piece came together very fast. So fast, in fact, that when we were able to actually look at the finished sculpture for the first time, a few days ago, we were both genuinely surprised by what we'd built. We both stood back with our mouths half-open and said... "Huh. Interesting." This is also a result of the fact that we build with a very 'old-fashioned' methodology - all 2D drawings and cardboard models - and so we did not have the option to pre-visualize it on a computer.

Using the lathe as a concentric welding fixture

Christina welding inside the sphere

Doing the finish patina on the hands... as they hang on the forklift

The sculpture has two modes: open and closed. It will stay in its closed position for the next few months while it accepts paper notes from visitors. And then, sometime in the fall or winter, we will load it full of firewood and burn all those notes and wood and the burning of all that fuel will cause it to open. This will be the first time the general community gets a chance to see it in the open position, but we did to a test-burn a few nights ago in order to verify the function of the piece, (it mostly worked) and so we have already seen it open.

Capsule Closed

Capsule Open

I must say that I was surprised to see how different the piece looks in its two modes, and how much I like it in the open mode. In the open position the sculpture reminded me of what is probably my favorite abstract sculpture, Spomenik #4. Spomeniks are a group of brutalist non-figurative concrete war monuments in the former Yugoslavia, and although I am no lover of abstract art, the power and appeal of these sculptures is undeniable. 

Spomenik #4 (as titled by photographer Jan Kempenaers) featured on the cover of his great book

Capsule is not technically abstract, as it loosely depicts a fragile globe protected by three hands, but it's probably as close to abstract as I've ever gotten, personally. The unexpected resemblance that I personally perceive between Capsule and Spomenik 4 is a relief, and a point of pride.

It probably should come as no surprise that both Christina and I, being people who have built lots of art which includes ambitious large sculpture, are control freaks. We both have strong visions and we both usually feel committed to seeing those visions actualized... as we see them. Naturally, this makes for some challenges when trying to work together for the first time. I would say that, overall, we did well in this department, and we could do better. As for the interesting question of whether the piece itself is better as a result of its having been the product of two artistic visions smashed into one, or if on the other hand a single unadulterated vision would in general produce a better result... I'm probably not the right one to make that judgment. I do think Christina brought elements to the sculpture that I never would have considered, and vice versa. So I suspect that yes, the piece benefitted. It's like a metaphor for parenting, or for a relationship.

Capsule Artists

We will work with our partners (THANKS CeCe and Matt!!) to determine the right date for the burning reveal of Capsule. It will likely be in the fall or winter and the date will be broadcast all over the Capsule networks, so stay tuned.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I have so much to write about. Capsule was a big part of it, but look for another blog post, hopefully in just a few days, in which I will catch us up on all the other stuff going on, such as 

Camille Paglia

The elusiveness of unstructured thought

My new sculpture prototype

My bookplate, and 

Crickets

Hasta pronto