One of the inspirations for this piece is Winged Victory, a sculptural portrait of Nike that appears in the Louvre museum. In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified triumph. What I enjoy most about making art from found objects is the moment of recognition—the “a-ha” moment of coming across a piece of metal or fabric and recognizing that it is not just an umbrella but a flowing gown—and not just a flowing gown but the gown of a goddess.
This work began with a charred piece of driftwood; it forms the base at the center of the sculpture. I found it while walking along the beach and thought it looked like a person standing upright. The top of that piece of wood forms her chest. And so she was born. Her gown is an old umbrella, while her shoulders and neck are made from old fixtures I’ve found on walks over the years. (I do my part to keep New York City streets clean!) The base is the top of an old copper teakettle.
Next I attached the face and doll arm, both of which I thought gave her dignity—a sense of being strong and composed. Then came the wings. On one of my regular junk-shop runs, I was approached by the proprietor about a taxidermy bird. She said the bird had been sitting on the shelf for more than seven years and that it was much older than that. She was ready to just throw it away. Something clicked, and I took a good look at it; in truth, it was beautiful. But there was more than its beauty that struck me; its usefulness had passed. Seven years … no one wanted it … ?-ha. I took it, turned it around in my hands and said—mostly to the bird—“So, how would you like to be a goddess?”
NIKE
This piece began as a study on the concept of fate. In Greek mythology, Atropos was one of the three Moirae (the Fates)—daughters of Zeus and Themis. These female deities supervised fate rather than determined it. Atropos was the fate who cut the thread, or web, of life. She was known as the “inflexible” or “inevitable” and cut this thread with the “abhorred shears.” She worked along with Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length.
(Accompanying chant to be sung to the melody of “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
A tick, a tock, a moment in time
A step beyond retrieval
A trap once sprung, which can’t be undone, set for the feeble!
Warn them in the schoolhouse!
Fetch them in cathedral!
Curiosity, you see,
Brings forth the evil!
This is an ancient jack-in-the-box of unknown origins. It is, however, believed that when it was sprung for the first time by an unsuspecting little girl named Pandora, all sorts of evil was released into the world.
Although the evil has already been released and can’t be returned to the box, the box plays the above tune when the curious turn the crank. Believe it.
ATROPOS
PANDORA’S JACK-IN-THE-BOX