Momentum

Forged & fabricated painted steel, 15' 6" x 17' x 9'

I broke new ground with this piece. Momentum is a somewhat pivotal piece in my body of work as I was at an early stage of building monumental sculpture—refining my understanding of the relationship between aesthetics and structure. The fact that it was commissioned for the College of Engineering inspired me to push the envelope to exceed the typical limitations of steel fabrication. The title describes Momentum’s appearance, but also references the engineering principle of “bending moment, a measure of the bending effect that can occur when an external force is applied to a structural element.”

Commissioned by the Illinois Capital Development Board for the College of Engineering, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (2004)