CULVER
SCULPTURE
Rocks & Machines
"Rocks and Machines" serves as an immersive odyssey, transcending conventional boundaries through an array of materials and processes that act as conduits between nature's raw authenticity and the precision of machines. This multidimensional exploration embraces diverse mediums, including cast metal, glass, 3D printing, laser engraving, Lichtenberg burning, steel fabrication, drawing, and beyond, forging a dynamic synergy that defies traditional artistic constraints.
Rooted in the thematic trinity of memory, perception, and discovery, these works weave a narrative web around a fictional assortment of objects. These objects, enigmatic and empowered by an elusive source, embark on an indeterminate quest with an unknown objective. This deliberate ambiguity liberates the creative process from the confines of predetermined outcomes often imposed by academic expectations, fostering a rare freedom in artistic expression.
By navigating the unknowns within the narrative, the artworks become vessels of interpretation, allowing viewers to embark on their own journeys of discovery. This departure from explicit guidance invites an exploration of personal narratives and interpretations, encouraging a symbiotic relationship between the observer and the artwork. In this realm of uncertainty, "Rocks and Machines" blossoms as an avant-garde testament to the unfettered creativity that emerges when the boundaries between nature and machine, fiction and reality, are deliberately blurred.
The Manifest began as an experiment inspired by the text, "Principia Discordia". I was fascinated by creating a fictitious religion based on geese, rocks, and entropy using digital fabrication techniques. The final result introduced lost PLA casting, laser engraving, and Lichtenberg burning to craft a loose narrative of geese observing the breakdown of order.
The Arrival was an exploration of form inspired by an omniscient object responsible for the oversight of creation. Shown in the image to the right suspended over 20 feet in the air in the Janice Charach Gallery.
The Correction expanded on pairing 2D works with 3D, creating didactic support while beginning to explore an opposing force to entropy, leading up to the work, The Harmony.
The Harmony, which debuted at The Valade Gallery at the College for Creative Studies, expanded on the inverse to entropy- balance. The work consists of lost PLA cast components made of bronze and iron which work together to hold a central form. Ideas of dichotomies helped to guide the form, and it served as a tale of opposing forces which ultimately support each other.
The Gadget was an experiment designed to broadcast a visual phenomenon known as a 'replication'. The specific replication is called 'symmetrical texture repetition' which induces a sense of order overlayed on top of your perceived field of view.
Following the established pattern of 3D works paired with 2D in 'Rocks and Machines', The Atmosphere used the same process to create the tessellated pattern as The Gadget while working to collapse the icosahedron down to a circle, creating visual distortion. The work uses side-lit etched glass to create a symmetrical texture repetition over a distorted image of a fresh gathering of rocks found on Lake Huron.
Flores Neptuni VI holds the record for the longest 'in progress' work to date for me. While it was the first exploration in digital fabrication (using a CNC plasma cutter), the work initially used a concrete base before it was decided to mount it to a wall. It played on a frequently asked question I'd received, "What does it do?"
The work became one of the first where I chose to invent fictional functions for forms, and while I still don't fully understand what it does, sometimes it attempts to tell me stories from the future.
The Furies, shown in a rendering to the right, functions as a collection of sentient memories. While collected, it represents the totality of being.
