See the previous blog post for the original drawing of this sculpture, and the full description of the meaning of the work. After three weeks, working by myself (outdoors in a field, no less) with only help to lift and move the heavy parts, I’m exhausted, but quite proud of this sculpture created for the Icheon International Sculpture Symposium. Weighing in at nearly two tons, this sanded and mirror-polished stainless steel public art is nearly nineteen feet long, almost twelve feet tall, and five feet deep. The final landscaping won’t be in place for some time, and these photos were taken right after installing it in the dirt — but imagine a little grass around it and a path through the middle of the two vertical slabs, and you get the idea. It was an amazing adventure and tested my skills at working with the most minimal amount of tools. And here it is, complete. I present to you, Transition:

For those wondering about the two-ton stainless steel sculpture I’ll be making here for the next three weeks at the Icheon International Sculpture Symposium, here is the rendering, along with the text description below it. Also, here is the website for the symposium: Icheon International Sculpture Symposium, Korea (edit: after symposium, link changed to updated page for 2011 symposium)

We are always in transition; from one breath to another, each heartbeat to the next – we are transitioning from our past experience to who we are now and who we would like to be.

This sculpture, titled TRANSITION, is the expressed reminder of that reality. Its overall shape implies a gateway: a universal marking of transition from one place to another, from one choice or moment into the next. The horizontal crosspiece hearkens to ancient flint stone carvings shaped by man, while the vertical support pieces are clean, modern and monolithic – representational of the moment that present transitions to past.

TRANSITION symbolizes the concept of bringing awareness to each unique moment of time. I have chosen to offset the horizontal crosspiece to bring visual focus to a specific point at the gateway. This choice visually pulls the viewer in to contemplate the complex and multifaceted surface at the gateway entry, symbolic of the moment of transition. The gateway entry point is slightly smaller than an average door entry width, alluding to the concept that the difficult moments or choices in life are not passed through with great ease.

The 9/11 Memorial I created got a good bit of press, here’s a round-up of a few of the sites covering the sculpture:

Los Angeles Times (LA Times)

Colossal (art/design blog)

DesignBoom (design blog)

Notcot.org (art/design) blog

Complex (culture blog)

Buzzaurus (culture blog)

Pasadena Star News

CBS (9/11 Special)

Dedication of 9/11 Memorial on 9/11/2011 in Rosemead, CA

LA Times article

The second hand is complete, and that means we can lower the WTC I-beam into place on this sculpture now. Here is a time-lapse video of that process: first craning the 500-pound I-beam into the hands, then welding it directly to the hand sculptures for a permanent attachment.

LA Times article

Now that’s some shiny public art! Just got the first of the two hand sculptures back from electropolishing, and it’s looking good with all the surfaces and welds all shined up to a nearly mirror finish! Love how it reflects the surrounding environment.

LA Times article

Thought this view of the hand being moved around in the shop looked interesting, and decided to share it:

LA Times article

Work continues on the 9/11 Memorial sculpture. This public art is requiring a massive investment of labor, each of the nearly 3000 parts requiring custom fitting to the overall shape. Below is a photo of the progress and a video showing one of the parts being fit.

LA Times article

Work is continuing on the 9/11 Memorial sculpture. Lots and lots of parts for this public art…

LA Times article

Currently we’re in the process of making a 9/11 Memorial Sculpture, and I have a section of an I-beam from the World Trade Center. It’s sobering to look at this thing and think about the fact that this was a strong, straight beam prior to the attacks of 9/11/2001. Part of the process of making this public sculpture involved turning the one length of beam into three: we have a fourteen-foot long section of I-beam, and need one ten-foot section for the sculpture itself, then two smaller sections that will be used for indoor displays about 9/11.

I made a short time-lapse video of the process mostly using a camera we recently set up in the studio to document the progress of sculpture projects. It’s less than two minutes long, but covers the entire process of cutting and slightly smoothing the raw edges (so they won’t cut anyone that touches the beam):

LA Times article