I am posting regularly on the recent placement of the 2008-2009 ArtInPlace public sculptures along the byways of Charlottesville. Please follow me in this series as I give you a little tour...
The viewer/sculptor interface is what I build for, and that is reflected in all of my work. I am concerned that people see my creations, touch them, and live with them. The pieces I create are distinct resting places for souls on a journey. Ideally, they are something your soul has not encountered before. What I create is informed by, yet free of, time before this moment.
These are the words of Connecticut sculptor, Karl Saliter, describing his body of work. In his AIP piece titled Particle Wave (located on McIntire Road near the 250 Bypass on the Schenk's Branch Greenway), Karl has assembled steel and rocks to create one of the few pieces that call for direct interaction. It is located on a pedestrian walkway on purpose. Particle Wave invites people to interrupt their journey, get close, see how it’s made, and, most importantly, get inside. Other sculptures are generally appreciated from afar.
Specifically about the creation of Particle Wave Karl says this:
Particle Wave was a lot of fun to make. Interactivity is the focus. I want people to come inside this unique place, and experience the environment. To touch the stones, to lay on their backs, and look at the sky through a whirl of rocks.
I'm looking at wave and particle behavior through the very solid stones, and through what is called the negative space around them.
The 8 foot cube is made of various lengths of steel rebar. The cube is then filled with a sphere. The sphere is made of a series of stones attached to the ends of steel rods. Nice technique. My favorite impression of the piece is coming to grips with how sensual the curve of the stone sphere is. After entering inside through the one-sided opening, I completely lost sense of the cold, hard materials enveloping me. Not until after I reached out to touch the beautiful stones was I brought back to appreciate their cold, hard surface.
This is a wonderful piece. I encourage everyone to stop their cars, get out and interact with it. It is so much more than just a geometrical puzzle.
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