Polychromed, Multi-Positional, Sheet Aluminum Sculpture

Leonardo, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 43-45, 1983 Printed in Great Britain 0024-094X/83/0 10043-03$03.00/0 Pergamon Press Ltd. POLYCHROMED, MULTI-POSITIONAL, SHEET ALUMINUM SCULPTURE Johanna Jordan+ 1. Statement There is a tension at the juncture of planar surfaces, in the edges which run straight or curved, and this property intrigues me. It has inspired me to develop a sculptural method utilizing sheet aluminum. A rigid, yet flexible material, aluminum sheetinghasled me in turn to construct forms with surfaces bending and flattening, meeting one another, and resolving into curved edges. The method has also permitted me to build holes and voids into a piece, setting up contrast with solid form and creating an interplay of negative and positive space. Since metal paints bond well with sheet aluminum, I have been allowed the additional freedom of painting my pieces in panels of hard-edged colors. These interact in a contrast of advancing and receding tones. My hope is that these three elementsshould play together in asort of counterpoint. And it is this final unification of edge, space and color that leads to my concept of multiple positioning: A piece that works can be set on various of its surfaces, each positioc showing a different relationship of the elements (Figs. 1-3). 2. Aesthetic Craft Architectural pieces of the type I create are often made from detailed drawings, so it may seem unorthodox that I do not use this technique. I work directly in aluminum and urethane from a rough, mind's-eye image and perhaps a few thumb-nail sketches. This is partly owing to the nature of aluminum sheeting, which tends to buckle and bend along unpredictable contours; also, it might resist the shapes into which one tries to mold it. More important,however, is the innatecomplexity of a multifaceted form, multiplied still further by the demands of variable positioning. This is nearly impossibleto conceive in the two dimensions of a drawing; furthermore, such a drawing, if actually produced, would be too confining for creating a threedimensional form. The mental image which begins my creation is generally a silhouette. I always start with a flat plane after deciding on the general size of the sculpture. I sketch this on paper to make a pattern, then transfer it to an aluminum sheet. After cutting out the shape with power tools, I line the inside surface with a sheet of urethane foam trimmed to match the metal form. Then I build up and around this initial piece, gluing the foam-lined panels together with epoxy, but always keeping the original form in mind, and seeking the most satisfying plane for each position. It is by using a mirror, however, that I achieve my multi-positional concepts, because as I build the piece, I continuously rotateit, turning it upside down,right-side up, and so on, viewing the reflection as well as the piece itself fromevery aspect. A plane is not right until it works from all positions. As a work progresses, it may depart from its original form. Occasionally a random element finds its way into the piece, changing it into a different form entirely, and the *Sculptor, 1617 Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, CA 92651, U.S.A. (Received 2 Nov. 1981.) Figs. I , 2. 3. 'Red and Green', polychromed sheer aluminum, 140x 98x 95 cm. 1979. Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baron Rouge, La, U.S.A. (Photo: J. Scotr Malcolm). 43 44 Johanna Jordan transformation is intriguing and exciting. In fact. it seems that I need the freedom to leave the original concept,especially during the construction of large pieces for which I sometimes do make maquettes. In cases like these, I often find it necessary to adjust or change the design in mid-project to suit the magnifiedscale; 1 must struggle to resist the inhibition that a rigid plan like a maquette can impose. I need to work as freely as possible to keep the form from going lifeless. 3. Construction Work on these pieces falls into two phases: construction and painting. Construction is part of a process I developed some years ago to make large pieces manageable, It was patently obvious that...