The Kinetic Seating System for the Wheelchair

Would any of you sit in front of your computer or at your desk all day long in a chair that didn't move? Then why would we put a person in a wheelchair for the rest of their life with a seat that doesn't move? The Kinetic Seating System for the Wheelchair is an invention that allows persons in a wheelchair to flex and stretch and move. See how it works: http://www.akaprototype.com/movie.html

What Does it Matter?

My mentor Mike Skop said (more or less), “While you’re sculpting, don’t say ‘I am taking the clay (or the wood, or the metal)’ to build your work, say instead ‘I am taking the energy’…because that’s what it is…energy…and you are simply transforming it."

But of course! How else would Michelangelo, one of the finest sculptors on this earth, be able to carve David from a piece of marble so it seems as if blood flows through his veins? Energy, training and plenty of practice.

My Art is In Material

When I am asked as a sculptor, what material I work in, I usually respond: “Whatever I can gets my hands on!” And it’s true, I find myself working in metal, wood, stone and even cloth, if I must or if I have the opportunity. Because it is not the material that is so important to me, as transforming the material into a form that seems both suitable to me and the project. And in that process of working with a material, I find I enjoy the act of transforming the material as much as I enjoy the finished artwork. If it is true that it takes a lifetime to master a material, then I’ll never be a master in any material. My art, however, is in the transformation of material.

Wooden Objects

I have been making compositions from wooden prototypes from the late 1800’s until the late 1900’s. These prototypes were onced used in metal foundries for sand casting and though intended for practical machine parts, their abstract forms evoke something quite different.

Metal Sculptures

I began studying sculpture at age 14 with Michael Skop, who was based in Kentucky. My training was traditional figure drawing, clay modeling and plaster molding. When I returned to my hometown in Connecticut, I found work as a welder at Lippincott, a company that pioneered monumental metal sculpture fabrication. I was suddenly immersed into the world of contemporary abstract art and I embraced it.

My Windward / Seaward series of sculptures in metal abstractly portray the idea of chance that occurs within the forces of nature and the tendency to obtain a sense of balance and even triumph. The sculpture in the picture is called "Trafalgar". Bronze with a green patina, it stands 6'8" on a stone base.

Stone

I am still discovering the nature of this material. I went to study in Querceta Italy with Gio Pomodoro who unfortunately died when I got there. I remained at Studio Angeli and worked without my intended mentor, but learned many things from the artisans who were working there. My real mentor was Darrell Petit who I would periodically communicate with from an internet café in town. “Don’t force the material” he reiterated. The artisans at Studio Angeli, some who had been carving stone for over 60 years, shared many stories about carving works for artists including Henry Moore and Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi, they told me would say, “You must listen to the stone!”

This sculpture is made of Carrara marble, and was purchased by Henry Schein, Inc. for their corporate headquarters in Melville, NY.

Sundials

Sundials are an incredible thing. They really work! I have made several equatorial sundials like this one out of stone and metal. One variation that is completely adjustable has recently been patented. The one shown to the left is located at Ohio State University. It weighs overt 13,000 lbs. Nothing immaterial about this design!