Ask E.T.: Table sculptures

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Table sculptures

These small pieces that sit on a table were completed over a series of really cold winter days--
thus "winter table pieces." The warmer the weather, the larger my artworks. And conversely.

Movies (by Andrei Severny and ET) of 2 table pieces (click arrow at lower left of each screen to play):

Next a stainless steel piece, asymmetric and tranquil.

In the third piece, shown below, the vertical stainless steel plane is engraved
and also scribed with lines and curves on both sides.

The gestures in the metal grinding recall the color gestures in Sonia Delaunay's work,
although Nature's colors from sunlight on stainless steel are richer and and more subtle.

-- Edward Tufte, March 8, 2007

Another view of the winter piece with 5 metal elements.
The ash wood base is part of the piece, not a pedestalization of the 5 elements.

Below, the stainless pieces stand on a trapezoidal base for reasons of visual dynamics;
rectangular bases lack such dynamics. When, if ever, does skewing apply to rectangular
paintings, photographs, drawing paper, windows, computer screens?
There are surely some occasions when the rectangle needs to be something else.

-- Edward Tufte, March 9, 2007

Indoor studio, from left to right: a Bouquet, then a part of another floor piece from
perforated stainless; then on the table, one of the calligraphic engravings,
followed by 2 new table pieces documented above in this thread, then some more engraving pieces,
and a painted plywood excerpt from Picasso's Guernica.

-- Edward Tufte, March 9, 2007

-- Edward Tufte, April 12, 2007

Movies

At the top of this thread, we've posted some movies of the sculptures. The light on the pieces is fixed; the multiplicity of images is the result of the rotation. In the original HD format, many many frames appear as interesting still paintings. In movie- land, it is interesting to watch the flow of light across the pieces, as each area of the piece is activated by the flowing light.

-- Edward Tufte, June 26, 2007

A suggestion for a variation of the first set of videos. Keep the camera and the sculpture fixed and move the light source. It would be interesting to see the change in surface patterns without a change in perspective.

-- Andrew Nicholls (email), June 26, 2007