new work

[ironman]

Hi. this is my latest piece. It's 8 1/2 ft. high, stainless steel and so far unnamed. Any ideas? criticism and praise are also welcomed, equally!
Thanks and have a nice day,
Jeff

[sculptorsam]

Very nice, Jeff. I like the sense of movement you get from "tilting" the column on the left to deprive the work of a single, central support. Do you have some more pictures of other angles?

Sam

[jOe~]

Ditto on Sam's comments--I too would like to see other angles/views. Some works translate into 2d. I have a strong sense that yours needs to be walked around to fully appreciate.

Joe

[Araich]

Looks great. Does that point touch the ground? Yeah, more angles please

[fritchie]

Nice piece, Jeff! Do give us more views.

[ironman]

Hi, Thanks for the compliments and yes, Araich that point does touch the ground. Here are two more photos of the piece.
Have a nice day,
Jeff

[fritchie]

Nice images and a nice piece, Jeff. If you don't mind a bit of irreverence, some aspects of this (mainly the top) remind me of a rampaging elephant. The first image looks like an alien wrestling with a gnomon.

[ironman]

Hi Fritchie, I had a laugh at your "bit of irreverence" and yeah, I too saw some elephantine ghosts, though not intended. I didn't see the alien wrestling with the gnomon but that's one of the great things about nonobjective art, what the viewer brings to the table. I don't look at non-ob art from a anthropomorphic (what does it look like) point of view in the sense of it's physical relation to something else in the real world but more from an anthropocentric, (how does it feel?, what do I feel from the piece?) point of view. Admittedly, this is quite nebulous and I think it's one of the reasons that some people have trouble with non-obj art, they expect it to look like or remind them of something in the real world. The last, almost 100 years has shown us that art doesn't have to look like anything. For me, it just has to have a feeling of some sort which is hard to explain because we're visual people not writers and we feel with our eyes! Frank Stella said, "What you see is what you get" and while I don't necessarily acribe to that due to the dangers of a reading of "decoration", it certainly enters into the equation, especially for people who don't know how to look at art.
I do many drawings until I find one that "speaks to me" (whatever that is?) with feeling and form and then my only concern is does it work sculpturally, and have drama and charisma while keeping a sharp eye out to avoid decorative and unneeded elements. I do like the juxtaposition of straight geometric parts with curved ones rather than all of one or the other, but that can work too.
Thanks to everyone for their input.
Have a great day,
Jeff

[JAZ]

Nice swerves, Jeff - it catches the light beautifully. Is it for a commission or just because? What gauge is it? Good bent geometry.
JAZ

[ironman]

Hi, It wasn't done for a commission but as thinngs sometimes happen I'll be sending photos off to try for one which I think it'll fit nicely. Hoping for the best and one never knows. You've got to be in it to win it. So I keep plugging away and trying for commissions although all I've ever gotten is a small one.
It's 16 gauge stainless steel.
Have a great day,
Jeff

[jOe~]

So, does it have a name or title? How do you refer to it? I finally figured out what about the piece has had me scratching my head for the last few days. Its the squiggly shapes. Miro used those all the time and I've been puzzled about them for 30 years. Guess I should spend some quality time with them and put them to rest. Then again, now that I think about it, 30 years ago I wore shirts with similar designs... paisely shirts. Must be a 60's flash back. LOL

Joe

[Jay Long]

very cool work, I see you like stainless steel also, I like it, make a great outdoor display. Jay

[ironman]

Hi, Up until last year I worked mostly in mild steel and either painted or clearcoated the pieces. But after experiencing too much anxiety over scratches, chips, etc. in those works (try moving a heavy, painted piece without scratching it), I've opted, when I can afford it, to work in s/s. It's also virtually maintenance free.
I do like painted sculpture and often use quirky colors (or so I've been told) on my painted works but I hate spray painting and I don't consider brush painting an option.
So, I've painted myself into a corner!
Those "squiggly shapes" as you call them seem to me to be passe, in this increasingly geometric world but I find them expressive and like to combine them with the straight geometric parts. That 60's flashback is to me, mining the past and hey, this is art, not rocket science, anything goes! I was going to say that no one else seems to use those squiggly shapes these days but then I realized that Frank Stella's wall reliefs consist of similar curves (although mostly based on a french curve) and he probably hasn't done a wall relief in 15 yrs. but he has designed a band shell that's got a lot of that curving in the design. Squiggly shaped curves are sexy too!
Have a great day,
Jeff

[Jay Long]

I like the finish you have put on this piece of work, stainless has a unique ability to blend with its enviorment, I like stainless and natural surroundings like plant life, and foliage, I have seen stainless steel after it has been blasted with glass beads, and it is very cool, it has absolutely no reflection and looks perfect, however it will also show surface imperfections, so it is not for every application,
also I have used what they call scotch bright (very fine) to blend in welded joints, it works very well, you have already seen my skull that I created, that piece had at least a hundred pieces welded and grinded down, polished and then
blended with scotch brite, go to "jaysmetalart.com" and you can see that skull in about 10 different poses, and in different light, such as indoor, outdoor, also there is a little skull on that web site that is sitting on a green cloth, and one underneath that of it sitting on a stump, check out how the color affects it. I can see this piece of yours sitting in a indoor mall, or a lobby of some downtown
corporation, Jay