Megaliths, Continuous and Silent, Stuctures of Unknown Significance

The images below show some of my stone+air artworks constructed recently

from stones found at the sculpture fields at Hogpen Hill Farms in Woodbury,

Connecticut. Not all artworks shown are finished, and most undergo a process

of editing and revision lasting for several months after initial construction.

I think of the pieces as being made from two materials, stone and air.

Much of thinking about the works is devoted to seeing and reasoning

about the airspaces generated by positioning the stone. The work is

also installation art; the artist controls the artwork's location, shapes

the surrounding land, creates platforms for views, and plants architectural

evergreens nearby.



As the works are completed, I will try to write more about them.

For now, here are some artworks that are, I hope, beyond words.



2013, stone and air, 32 x 20 x height 15 feet or 10 x 6 x height 4.5 metersAce the dog, height 27 inches or 70 centimeters



Below, I-beam megalith, 2013, stone, steel, air, 23 x 11 x height 15 feet or 7.0 x 3.4 x height 4.6 meters

Ace the dog, height 27 inches or 70 centimeters

Below, Breaching Whales, 2012, stone and air, 17 x 12.5 x height 15 feet or 5 x 4 x height 4.5 meters

Showing the linked continuity of the rambling megaliths:

A prop piece, as a large stone is propped up by a smaller supporting stone.

In making a prop piece, the angle of intersection requires careful study.

Below, the yellow tool (a pick) is about 42" long (for scaling);

the unusual image color-processing helps place the trees in the

background and accent the stone surfaces:

A continuous flowing piece designed as a whole around

the 4 major airspaces in gaps between vertical supports:



The Walking Wall, with ramped access to the top surface.

I had the High Line in mind, as even this modest elevation

here (about 34") results in a substantial shift of viewpoint.

The supporting wall breaks away from traditional walling

("maximize volume of stone in a wall") by creating airspaces

and see-throughs to make a lacy wall. So the wall is about

30% to 40% air. Air is a material.

Both the gate and the sphinx are about 18 feet or 5.5 meters in height:

We fractured these stones, resulting in cubist three-dimensionality.

Fracturing exposes fresh bright colors, planes, edges inside the

original unbroken stone. This piece continues on for about 40 feet

or 12 meters, at varying heights up to 16 feet or 5 meters.

Two huge megaliths, 80 to 100 tons of stone total. I forget about raw

mass/tonnage a few weeks after putting such artworks together, but

during construction it is about overcoming gravity, de-massing, making

the airspace and stonespace optically move, even float, without weight.

And about careful rigging practices and safety ("Never get under a live

load." "Stones can bounce when they fall." "Keep your hands and body

away from pinch points."). The piece in the background here also appears

in the first two images beginning this report.



Below, I started working with Dan Snow in January 2012. We first did

these lacy walls, with the upper part only one stone wide. Some old walls

in Ireland are wonderfully lacy with see-throughs and good airspaces.

Dry walling (without concrete or filler) usually requires that each stone

touch 4 others, which is usually the case in these two lacy walls.

The images below show the process for making these artworks.

Dan Snow, the amazing stone worker and waller, worked

with me on many stone pieces.



Here I am happily cleaning up newly constructed megaliths.

The water etches out cracks in the stone and also reveals

the complex surface texture of the stone.



These two images show my messing-around clay sandboxing (at 1/48 scale),

photographs, and lots of sketches that help reason about the air and stone.

But the final architecture of the work is done at full scale with real stones.

Complex air-spaces and stone-spaces are notoriously difficult to understand

by means of flatland sketches/photographs and scale models. A much richer

understanding is achieved during the actual construction and the follow-up

revisions (which may take several months). Still, scale models, handwaving,

and flatland sketching/photography contribute. Whatever it takes.

-- Edward Tufte

