Paired Trilateral Pyramids
New Maquette: 2019, paperboard, 29.5″x9″x9″
Light, shadow and visual dissonance are the essence of this sculpture. Propelled by an almost jarring arithmetic, the pyramids play with our senses – on the sides, six different faces stretch from top to bottom yet the top and bottom each have only three edge andwhileeach pyramid has four corner points the entire sculpture contains only six — creating an illusion of constant changes depending on point of view and ambient light.
From various angles the form morphs from upright column to slightly leaning column to slanted, flat-topped obelisk to minimalist bowtie stood on end – and back again (and again). In shifting daylight, light and shadow further the visual elasticity. In short, it’s a sculpture that never physically changes but has a continually changing look.
Originally conceived in 2008 in the moments after the artist awoke from a dream, the design has gone through several iterations, including full-sized mockups (see below), since destroyed, made from hand-cut painted plywood displayed as part of his solo exhibit, “Flat Out,” at Wm Turner Gallery in Atlanta in 2010 and a second full-sized maquette shown as part of the 2012 8thBiennial Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College.
(The maquettes represents a final work in steel, 8.5’ tall, painted matte black, earlier rendered in wood in 2008 — see below — and again in 2012.)
2008, approx. 8.5′ x 2.5′ x 2.5′ x 2.5′, painted wood
