biography

The contrast between polish and texture was the first and most obvious carry-over from jewelry making. Adding to that a lifelong love of water led to early experiments with the contrast between land and sea. I was interested not only in establishing a difference at the interface, but in capturing some of the more elusive properties of water, such as the shimmery surface, the vagaries of ripples, and the real kicker: reflections. I decided to ignore transparency for the time being.

The question of reflections dictated the obvious solution to the portrayal of water in metal: polish it. I had already been using polished areas to draw the viewer into my compositions in a concept ual sense; that is by glimpsing distortions of themselves in my figurative pieces. So beguiling was the next step of reflecting part of the sculpture, I was able to endure the enormous amount of added labor to achieve this environmental aspect. Once you start adding parts of your subject’s surroundings into a sculpture, it becomes hard to stop: a woman walking on the beach leaves footprints in the sand behind her that are also being washed away after a few steps. The sand is untracked ahead of her. Time has entered the picture: Past (tracks), present (woman walking) and future (untracked sand). This paragraph and the one before it really have me hooked…it is almost like you are building suspense for the next paragraph and for the viewer who looks at your art.

Speaking of pictures, there is a scene reflected in the polished lenses of the woman’s sunglasses. The reflection is the gold of sunset, or sunrise, hinting at the time of day. Her hair and clothes stream to the side away from the ocean. An onshore breeze is blowing and its effects are apparent. Weather has entered the picture.

The difference between skin and clothes could also be defined by changes in texture, analogous to brush strokes. These changes in texture would change the appearance of the applied patina. At last I was a painter. These concepts define my work to this day: the subject's environment, time as an element and the hour in a day, weather, and painterly textures. Of course was hard to be painterly with a patina pallet of brown, the predominant color of bronze sculpture in those days. Some colorful chemical experimentation was called for, and bronze would become a lot more interesting.

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The sculpture described above is SAND DANCER. She was finished in late 1973, after completing the Livingston Collection—a 45 piece collection of bronzes that was supposed to launch my career. Unfortunately, in my youthful naiveté, I had neglected to read the fine print and was left with tons of sculpture that would not generate my share of income for years, if ever. I was forced into foundry work to make a living, and thus acquired an expertise in the craft of sculpture that made everything since possible. Coincidental to working at that foundry, and correlated to our main customer, I received numerous commissions from the Franklin Mint to do very realistic, detailed sculptures of people and animals. My education was nearly complete.

I once again ventured forth into the artistic life, thinking I had all the requisite physical skills for sculpture…only to trip over my own ego and tumble headlong into the abyss of Jungian analysis. I discovered symbolism, the spiritual component of art. Actually, I didn’t discover it, I was beat over the head and dragged kicking and screaming into a realization that the world was not this rational, black and white epitome of logic I had believed in. Sometimes I know I’m still being dragged, especially when I think I’m not.

To continue in this philosophical vein, please consider the idea that mythology, poetry, and art are humanity's attempt to describe the ultimate mysteries of life, which are otherwise beyond our ability to consciously comprehend. Joseph Campbell once said that the “best things can't be told, they transcend thought. The second best are misunderstood because they are the thoughts referring to that which can't be talked about. The third best are what we talk about.” This is the essence of the appeal of visual arts, poetry, literature, and music; they excite an emotional response, or memory that transcends words.

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