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The tall, slender Albedo is one in a series of “endless columns” that is dedicated by Benbow Bullock to the highly revered, Rumanian-born sculptor, Constantin Brancusi. (Brancusi’s own 98-foot-high, metal Endless Column in Târgu-Jui, conceived as a memorial to young Rumanians who died in World War I, was completely restored and reassembled in 2000.) The concept for the series evolved gradually over the course of ten years from Bullock’s desire to create sculptures that combine the triangular shape of the pyramid, the vertical of the obelisk, and the towering grace and light-seeking qualities of sunflowers. Albedo’s stainless steel surface is burnished to make it “sing in the sun,” an ideal of the artist which is further alluded to in the title, a scientific term referring to the amount of light reflected off a surface. Bullock has stated,“Sculptures have a life of their own, casting shadows that change in shape and length daily, and with the changing seasons. Sculptures are abstract sundials.” This certainly applies to the majestic Albedo.
The first in the series, the bronze Tournesol Sauvage, is installed at a sculpture park near the Susquehanna River in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Homage to Brancusi, almost identical to Albedo, is at the entrance to Chianti Sculpture Park in Tuscany, Italy. Others are at The Chicago Athenaeum Sculpture Park and a private collection in Italy, and one is installed on the Greek island Naxos. Albedo, a gift of the artist to The Sculpture Foundation, Inc., joins the abstract, brightly hued Pillars of Hercules at Grounds For Sculpture. Bullock, who lives in California, graduated from Wesleyan, and furthered his technical training in San Francisco. He works in a variety of metals and prefers the simple elegance of hard-edge geometric Constructivism. He has been given solo exhibitions at various venues in that state, and one took place at the James A. Michener Art Museum’s sculpture garden in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 1996-97. He has participated in group shows at many other sculpture parks in the United States, Lithuania, France, Italy, and Japan. As of May 24, 2003, five of Bullock’s colorful steel sculptures will be on view at Westcott Bay Sculpture Park, a new 40-acre venue on the San Juan Islands, Washington.
Benbow Bullock is a sculptor from the San Francisco Bay area who has been creating sculpture for over thirty years. His most recent pieces are simplified geometric constructions in steel, painted in brilliant primary and secondary colors. Pillars of Hercules (1995) is installed on the grounds by the lake shore. Each element composing the triptych is eight feet high with geometric cut-outs atop a tubular column. The title refers to the labors performed by Hercules, the Greek mythological hero, and the promontories named for him that flank the eastern entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. Bullock's work is strongly influenced by his travels to archaeological sites throughout the world.
More information on this artist can be found at http://www.artnut.com/. |
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Albedo, 2003
stainless steel; 396" x 24" x 24"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Gift of the Artist
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com
Pillars of Hercules, 1995
painted steel
3 elements, each 80" x 48" x 24"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Gift of the Artist
Photo: Ricardo Barros.com |
