Matt Rink and I have been working in collaboration for the duration of our senior year at Alfred University. Matt works predominately in figurative sculpture, combining cast metal body parts such as feet, hands or heads with forged clothing. The result is an astounding combination of processes that conveys the figure in a well crafted manner. I have been interested in working with cast away or neglected materials, and using art as a way to breathe new life into these overlooked and forgotten materials. An abundant supply of decommissioned lamp poles have served my artistic interests for this year.

The proposal below is a culmination of Matt and my efforts for our senior show. There will be four life-sized figures located throughout the lamp pole sculpture. In the interior space, we will display artistic prints of the pictures found on a previous post of this blog. They are printed using water-soluble ink, and are reworked into original water-colored prints. Additionally, we will display video documentation of the process of erecting the lamp pole sculpture and perhaps even sell books commemorating the installation, and collaborative effort.



Matt and I will be casting custom hardware to hold the 40 lamp poles, measuring 15 feet tall, static so viewers will be able to walk throughout the sculpture. We both took a CAD class, and were intending on developing a part to be rapid-prototyped for the purpose of casting multiples, however we may take a low-tech approach and make a precise wax part that will be molded and cast in iron.



In addition to this proposal, Matt and I will be erecting a large scale iteration of the project pictured below on this website. The first iteration of the sculpture, using 60 lamp poles measuring 25 feet tall, was 120 feet long, 37 feet wide, 24 feet tall at the highest point and 17 feet tall at the lowest point. We plan to push the envelope and enlarge the sculpture to 250 feet long, and 40 feet wide, which will drop the lowest point to 15 feet. This will accent the subtle curve that the apex of the arches describes.



The final capstone for the project will be the re-lighting of the lamp poles in the night with the addition of 'True Blue' P170 phosphorescent pigment provided by USR Optonix (http://www.usro.com/). A long triangular strip of True Blue will originate at the apex of each pole an taper towards the ground. At the beginning and end of the sculpture the strips will be shortest, and at the middle of the sculpture the triangles will extend to 7 feet above the ground. They lengths will be calculated according to a subtle curve, perhaps using the measurements that plot the base of each pole. The end result will be a precise, floating, glowing mass of lines that hover in mid air during the night time, viewable from an elevated highway, and from the field below. Viva la luz!