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 Pieta
January, 2008
39" x 81" x 22"
(includes integral pedastal)
Porcelain, Stainless Steel, Ni-Chrome Wire, Acrylic, Electrical Components |
I conceived Pieta as a memorial sculpture to one of my best friends and
business partner Matthew Mackendrick. I didn't handle his death well back in
the early 90's and felt it was important to create a piece that expressed my
grief in a more productive manner. I wanted to reconsider Michelangelo's
famous Pieta piece from a more modern perspective.
 I
separated the Madonna from the Christ figure to reinforce the idea of a
separation of the masculine and the feminine principles. The Madonna figure
is constructed from torn and ripped strips of white cast porcelain and
suspended in a vertical grid pattern held in place with stainless steel
rods. The entire figure floats above the base to emphasize the disconnect of
these spiritual figures from the ground beneath. I feel this reinforces the
"ideaness" of these iconic figures. |
 The
Christ figure is constructed from two separate circuits of nickel-chromium
wire that glows red-orange hot when 110 volts of electricity is run through
them. The circuits run separately by an electronic timer that can be set to
any duration between 1 and 60 seconds.
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 The wire has a wonderful expanding quality to it when the current first
starts to course though it. The wires are 26 gauge and a dark blue-black in
color that makes them seem very fine and somewhat unnoticeable. But as they
start to heat up, they expand and slump as they turn bright orange in color. The
effect is of breathing; the figure of Christ seems to breathe as the two
circuits alternate back and forth. I find the effect mesmerizing and very
soothing to watch. |
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