The Obelisk is Finished

After a lot of hard work the sculpture for the Queens Museum is finished. Carol and I are happy with the results and found out what is is like to build and instal a large work while having to take care of a baby at the same time. Dante was with us during the entire installation and required as much if not more attention that what we were putting into the sculpture. So, it was a good thing that we had a little over a week to instal the work because we needed it.
I was very happy I took so much time in the early stages to really plan out exactly how I was going to design and build the structure. There were many drawings done on post-its, napkins and any paper that was handy when I got an idea of how it should be constructed. At the same time the sketches were coming, foam core models were being built while I had free time at work. These models proved to be some of the best ways for me to realize the basic proportions that the obelisk would take. Once the form was down the materials were decided on. 2x4s were finally chosen as the foundation for the structure. One the materials were chosen, the scale models were built to insure the structure would be sound. I was thinking that once the full scale piece was built, I would have to reinforce it with crossbeams but the design turned out to be more sturdy than expected and we were able to keep the sides free from extra lines.
I will post more about the different elements when I have detail photos. Until then I hope you can make it out to The Queens Museum to see the work.

Obelisks

In January, my wife and I will be working on a project together which will involve building a 16-20 foot obelisk. Right now we are in the planning stages and are making drawings and starting to build models. The models have proven to be a valuable reference when it come to realizing the drawings. for example, The first idea was to have an 8 ft base that narrows to 6ft at the top, right before the pyramid cap. When it was built, it looked more like an old oil derrick and not as much as a obelisk as first imagined.

The peice needed to be more narrow but still have a solid base so it would not topple over. As can be seen in the photos, the solution was to make an obelisk with a 4 ft base and a 3ft top while adding an 8ft base. This larger base keeps the obelisk stable and adds to the dynamics of the piece in general.