STEEL
While drawing from life, I outline a selection of planes and contours that call out to my attention. Sculpture enables me to analytically interpret these schematic records of cognitive processing into physical diagrams. For all of my Layers artworks, proportions and positions of depth for all constituent parts are scaled to replicate what had been previously observed. I have guided the fabrication process with the structure of a cubic graph. Singular, condensed shapes are treated as idiosyncratic plots. Flat panels are parallel planes to an imaginary “X” or “Y” axis. They are isolated within and separated by vacant space intervals. Curved and tilted parts, however, playfully intersect and dance within this rigid compositional formula.
Emotion affects the quality of my drawings. Swoops and sharp dashes imply a sense of eagerness. Euphoria imbues an affinity for intricate details. When viewed closely, the interconnected span of each pencil line features varying degrees of graphite thicknesses. To create the main vertical bar of Line Intersection I treated these markings as code for sculpting form. The most prominent bulbous masses indicate where my hand had been heaviest onto the paper. Clusters of coin-like shapes, appeared out of subtle tremors while drawing.
The coloration of this sculpture was applied as a system of measurement. It reenacts environmental projections onto the subject I witnessed while drawing, a Stingray poking through the ocean surface at night. Hues indicate positions of submerged depth by approximating an exposure to moonlight. White is nearest to the surface. Steel bars stabilize the vertical posture and weight of this artwork. They also have the duty of aesthetic borders which enclose a space of predictive volume and range of motion.
I studied this magnified reference of a graphite Line Dash in reverence to its personal significance. Engraving in solid steel with chisels was labor intensive, but resulted in a product of relative archival permanence. The two lines depicted in the sculpture epitomize a specific cadence of my neuro-processing. They reflect eachother, both tapering in thickness towards zero at a central point. At the conclusion of a line, I had raised my pencil simultaneously to a detachment of consciousness from both task and environment. Then, within a second proceeding this pause, my attention was redirected to drawing another dash.