Welded steel-lifesize.
Made entirely from industrial scrap punch parts.
This figure and my self portrait "Reflection"were made at the same time,the result of a marvelous dream I had.In the dream,I walked in my livingroom and saw these two incredible lifesize figurative sculptures (of my girlfriend and myself).As I was enjoying the view and the novel way they were constructed,I suddenly realized that I had made them...No sooner had the words"How in the world?" left my lips than I was assaulted with the download of the whole process of fabrication from start to finish.I awoke exhausted and took three pages of notes.
I sort of sat on the effect and knowledge the dream conveyed for a few days wondering aloud if it could actually work,but my girlfriend really wouldn't let it go and pushed me to try the process.I said, "Yeah but this requires a bit of work and prep on your part to. Are you willing to shave everything so I can take body molds off you?"
"I will if you will"was her response...
Technique:
I start with life molds taken off the live model. In this case four.
1. The chest ,front
2.the chest .back
3.the abdomen ,front
4.the abdomen ,back
Each mold is about a 45 minute pose for the model. The very thin shell molds are hung up to dry and harden over night. I use a roll gauze impregnated with plaster,made by Johnson and Johnson called "specialist wrap".All hair must first be removed from the body of the model,and I use spray sun tan oil (bain de soleil)as a lubricant so the plaster wrap won't stick.
When the molds have hardened I reinforce them on the outside with more layers and liquid plaster. When I think they are strong enough to withstand the heat of welding and the weight of steel,I begin the arduous process of arranging the steel punch parts and welding them inside the mold one by one making sure they stay flush on the inside wall of the mold.Thus the form is slowly built up.
After completing the four molds in this way I weld them together to create the full body torso. It weighs about 100 lbs.
SOLD-Private collection;San Diego.Ca.
