Page 51 - Studio International - December 1965

Rosebud 1962
Plastic
5 X 6 ft.
Collection: Mr. Richard Feig en.
New York City

properties of materials than with individual differences. adopt symmetry seems a natural part of the effort to
I tend to impose the properties of materials on my arrive at the most direct expression of an idea. It
shape, changing them at will. rather than uncovering is after all one,of the simplest forms of order. I do not
them in their particular form. In the same sculpture try to achieve a direct and ordered structure. I value
the materials will change from having the appearance order. but to me order leads to structure and structure
of fluid softness to brittleness. sometimes owing to to character or expression ( a need for expression is
the fact that the shape imposes character on the a first cause and not reason why I am an artist).
material. sometimes conversely a formal problem may The conflicting forces in a work are created by a
be inspired by some physical property of a material. multitude of factors. To name one, the effort of the
for instance, when a crinkly thin form has been inspired parts to retain their autonomy creates a balancing
by the properties of materials like paper. but would in problem made all the more difficult because sculpture
the end be made in a rigid material like resin. Other with a main front has optical forces operating as in
instances would be in splitting, unfolding, etc. painting. The same movement to the right or left will
I do not wish to draw benefit from the heroic struggle have different forces, all resulting in the discrepancies
of man versus material (even though it is a bloody you mention. There is then a balancing problem of
battle) in which sculpture has so long been trapped. controlling local forces and interpreting them. Also
Hence the freedom of approach to materials. but I an effort to assist these conflicting forces in order that
do want to be aware of the limits that matter is imposing the balance in the end will be all the more evident.
on me. To use a collage technique or even weld an
impossible joint would seem like cheating. 0: Although there are many examples, take Giacometti
Much of the power of Brancusi comes from the as one extreme of the range and Brancusi as the other.
simple constructional principles he uses, objects lying Both have an extraordinary concern for surface. What
on top of each other in a believable balance. The is your concern in this direction?
struggle of matter towards expansion. movement and A: I would say surface as the outside of volume and
change is set against an awareness of the static not texture. Shape thought of in terms of volume and
controlling forces of inert matter. Hence the often surface covers more gr,ound and is more flexible than
recurring use of the cone as a very large, very much let us say thinking of it.in terms of matter, quantity and
earth-bound shape that will provide maximum quality, producing mass and volume.
challenge in an effort towards expansion. In the first proposition surface becomes an aspect of
volume or the outside of volume and takes on an
0: Your pieces are basically symmetrical, but there identity of its own. outside the quality of volume,
seem to be deliberate discrepancies which appear working with or against it, making a thin volume seem
to be carefully balanced. In other words. you seem heavy or a large volume seem light.
to be concerned with balance. Is this so. and why? I make my surface smooth because smoothness seems
A: I use symmetry because I do not hold particular to express much better the variable quality of surface.
value in asymmetry, like some artists have held. To texture would get in the way, being loaded with
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