Welded Sculpture by Nathan Cabot Hale (review)

Books-Liures 203 Graphic Communication. William J. Bowman. John Wiley, Chichester, England, 1968. 210 pp., illus., 95s. Thisbook isan excellentdidacticintroductionfor graphicdesignerswhowishto becomeillustratorsof scientific and technical texts. It will help them to understand the special visual language used. For this purpose the book is to be highly recommended. As one who works on the periphery of graphic design,it has alwaysseemedto me that oneaspect of this kind of design was missing. That is, there is no generally understandable visual ‘code’. Such a ‘code’would be made up of signsand sequences of signsthat wouldbeimmediatelyinterpretableby any person, irrespectiveof languageand fieldof specialization . Perhapssucha ‘code’cannotbeconstructed, however I have not seen a clear refutation of the idea. Furthermore, we have no way of representing processes and abstract conceptions by graphical means. Efforts have been made in this direction in the past by expressingwordsand phrasesby pictures of objects-the rebus is the predecessor of the alphabet. Highway and international airport signs and even comic strips might give clues for the invention of such graphic ‘codes’. Yana Friedman 42 Bd. Pasteur, 75 Paris 15, Frarce. Welded Sculpture. Nathan Cabot Hale. WatsonGuptill Publications, New York, 1968. 192 pp., illus. $10.95. “As you have accepted me as your teacher, you will more or less acquire some of the things that I have learned the hard way.” This statement by Nathan Cabot Hale sets the mood and character of Welded Sculpture. The author has written a richly illustrated account of many of the problems confronting the welder-sculptor. With over 200 diagrams and photographs, this book offers a stepby -step course in this field. In nine detailed chapters the author ranges from ‘basic tools needed’ to the ‘economics of fine arts’. The tenth and final chapter is a brief gallery of sculptor-welders. The book opens with a discussion of the tools, equipment and materials necessaryin oxy-acetylene welding,followedby a descriptionoftheirfunctions. This section closes with all-important safety precautions that should be observed. The account ontheoxy-acetylenemachineandaccessoriesisvalid. However, much of the tool presentation, especially the illustrations on tool functions, are perhaps excessivefromtheviewpointofa potentialpupilwho intendsto expresshisartisticfeelingsin thismedium. Hale takes us through basic welding techniques covering such subjects as ‘heat and flame control’ and the making of certain kinds of metal jointsimportant aspects of the craft. There follows a section pertaining to the building of abstract and organic shapes, as well as the modeling of solid 14’ figures. Here the author’s ‘animal, vegetable and mineral’ approach to categoriesof form tends to be too elementary. It should be assumed that a sculptor, before attempting welding, is already familiarwithprimaryshapesin nature. Whilemany pages are devoted to the modeling of solid forms, two of the major advantagesof weldingin sculpture are too lightly treated-that of assemblage and construction. Both of these aspects contribute techniqueshighlyvaluablein enlargingthespectrum of plastic expression. Chapter6treats thefinishingof the sculpture. It is a thorough account, including the cleaning (acid bath, etc.) texture control, patinas and preparation of the base. Electric arc welding is then discussed. With his customary thoroughness, Hale describes the functioning of the arc welding machine, clothes needed and prudent safety measures. This clear, concise introduction to arc weldingconcludeswith interesting hints for settingup a welding shop. Another interesting subject which is broached concernsthe problemsengenderedin the production of large-scale commissioned works. Such matters as sculptor-client relations, costs and design are covered, even to the extent that the author provides advice on making a model and enlarging it to full scale. Hale, in writing of the problem of design, makes an important point that should be noted. Namely, that a sculptor working in architecture must attempt to be involved in the planning from beginningto end. The author writes on to offer somecounsel to the neophyte on the economics of Fine Arts. This covers subjects such as the ‘business’ of art and ‘when and how’ to exhibit. The closing section is a ‘Gallery of SculptorWelders ’. A photograph of a work by each artist representedisaccompaniedby a briefbiographyand by an explanationon the methodsused. Here, Hale is very liberal in his choiceof a wide variety of styles and techniques. These photographs do more than any text to showthe many possibilitiesof weldingin sculpture. Nathan Cabot Hale studied in his native California , in New York...