Open-Ended

A new series of artworks, Open-Ended, made from wood, steel, and tool steel.
Shown are Open-ended #1 (in the wooden box), Open-ended #2 (upright steel box with compartment), and Open-ended #3 (oblong steel box).

These works make visual references to Jasper Johns, Joseph Cornell, and Santa Fe. The art-historical idea is to restore cross-like forms to artwork vocabulary by avoiding the Christian vocabulary conventionally present in such shapes.

Thus the use of antique open-ended wrench forms: tools held in the hand, tools accommodating a variety of nuts and bolts. These “open-ended implement wrenches,” as they are described by wrench collectors, were supplied by manufacturers of farm implements to serve as an all-purpose wrench for adjustments and repairs.

Andy Conklin and Peter Taylor did the fine craftwork for the pieces. The wood is milled from our ash tree cut down years ago, the steel is from the Logan Steel Bargain Barn run by my friends at Logan Steel, and the wrenches are from flea markets. Wrench identification assisted by Google Images. Andrei Severny took the photographs.