Comedysportz: Second installment

Second video. Of many!

ComedySportz videos: First of Many

Check us out with our new internet web presence! I’m so psyched to be back in Berlin with so many funny, talented people around me! Enjoy!

Elephant Plaster Cast

 

Goodbye Thailand! Goodbye Salak Phet! I hope everyone enjoys the sculpture I left for you! I had an amazing time with everyone and I wish you all the best.

Elephant Clay Model: Finshed

 

 

The smoke in the photos is not for effect, it is for keeping mosquitos away. So far, no malaria!

 

 

Elephant Sculpture on Koh Chang: updates

More updates!

 

 

 

Artificial Reefs and Underwater Sculpture

For the past 2 months I have been living on Koh Chang, one of Thailand’s largest islands. Near Koh Chang there are many coral reefs, and there are local initiatives to tackle the issue of coral bleaching, and dying coral reefs. Not only on Koh Chang, but all over the world people are responding to this same problem by creating new artificial reefs for coral to colonize, using different approaches. The idea of creating an artificial reef has been gaining momentum for the last 15 years. So why are people trying to create artificial coral reefs? The answer is that coral reefs contain a large percentage of the oceans biodiversity and ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. So why is this happening? It is a combination of over fishing, global warming (which has many sources), and increased coral reef tourism. Here, I simply want to present all of what I have found concerning coral reef restoration, and different approaches for creating an artificial reef.

At this point, I’m sure many people have heard of Jason Decaires Taylor’s under water sculptures in Cancun, Mexico. He has been receiving the most attention in the last few years, so I won’t go into too much detail about his work. What Taylor has done is a combination of two things. On the technical side, he has adapted the approach of an organization called Reef Balls. On the artistic side, he has almost completely adopted the process artist Antony Gormley used while making Domain Field, a project he did in 2003 at the Baltic Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England. During the creation of Domain Field, Gormley made plaster life casts of 250 people from the town of Gateshead and Newcastle, and used those plaster molds as templates for constructing steel sculptures that loosely delineate the shape of each person. Gormley has also had molds of himself made to make iron casts that are installed facing the sea in Another Place, in Wattenmeer Cuxhaven, Germany. Where Gormley creates softly formed iron casts of his own body, and abstracted forms of the community members of Gateshead, Taylor creates detailed cement casts of people from the communities close to where his sculptures are installed that are softened by the coral over time. Where Gormley has a vast and diverse body of artistic work, Taylor does not.

At the same time, Taylor has had remarkable success with growing coral, the true aim of his sculpture. I find this the most impressive thing about his work, especially in comparison with the other methods of artificial reef creation I have come across.

Reef Balls, the name of an NGO that could only be American, also creates underwater structures using pH neutral cement, which is what Taylor uses in creating his cement life casts. PH neutral cement being the key phrase, here. According to Reef Ball research, normal cement has a pH of 13, and alkaline levels are too high for coral to colonize when the structures are initially installed, therefore more aggressive life forms, such as barnacles and algae get there first and inhibit coral growth. The pH in the cement is neutralized through mixing additives, such as micro silica, and curing of the cement for at least 30 days. Here is a photo some finished Reef Balls before and after installation:

 

Ideally, aided by transplanting coral from existing reefs, it takes only a couple of years for coral to grow over the entire structure.

Though the above photo is the ideal result, I have seen many photos of Reef Balls that look unsuccessful as well. Reef Balls are installed all over the world, and I’m sure it must be hard to guarantee success for every installation. They mention on the website that they have a patent to ensure quality, but I would guess they play a role in project management as well. So if the project does not use official Reef Balls, than most likely the cement isn’t being mixed properly and the site location isn’t carefully thought out either.

All in all, Reef Balls are an impressive organization who have found diverse applications for their design. There are also a few related companies, one of which is called Eternal Reefs, who specialize in creating artificial reefs, or ‘memorial reefs’, which are mixed with the ashes of loved ones, complete with an engraved memorial plaque on the side. Fun!

More practical applications of the Reef Ball design are taken on by another offshoot of Reef Balls called Reef Beach, where Reef Balls are used to prevent beach erosion and act as a ‘submerged breakwaters’, surrounding long stretches of shoreline. In some cases, the Reef Balls are simultaneously used to grow oysters. Reef Beach is also undertaking Mangrove restoration using the Reef Balls.

  

The Reef Ball Foundation is not alone in their quest for reef restoration and coral cultivation. I came across another, more science fiction approach called Biorock, which makes similar claims to successful coral growth. Biorock has an interesting history. Originally thought of to be used in conjunction with ocean thermal energy conservation, Biorock uses the process of electrolysis to create calcium carbonate, the same substance that coral produces naturally. A steel frame is constructed and hooked up to an electric current, and over time the steel is encased in calcium carbonate produced by electrolysis. The calcium carbonate coating will then naturally attract coral, and provide an appropriate substrate where coral can be transplanted. Biorock claims to provide a substrate that makes the coral more hardy, and able to survive coral bleaching where natural coral cannot.

Here is a great informative/promotional video from one of the founders of Biorock, Thomas Goreau Ph.D:

The founders of Biorock are a well decorated team in terms of education and work experience and the videos out there for Biorock are pretty convincing. Here is a video of a Biorock reef filmed after 2 years of growth in North Sulawesi, Indonesia:

Each method boasts good results, but as it is noted on the Reef Ball website, no project can be successful without sufficient scientific data to back it up. The water must first be tested, and the site must be thoroughly analyzed to assess whether or not it will be a good location for coral. For example, I doubt that building a Biorock structure in already polluted water will have good results. There also seems to be a kind of Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison like PR battle beginning between the Reef Ball Foundation and Biorock. In the case of Edison vs. Tesla, Edison was the aggressor and ended up being wrong, with Biorock and Reef Balls, Biorock seems to be the aggressor, but they seem to more qualified scientifically, whereas Reef Balls are more geared towards marketing them for diverse applications and being presented as a kind of ‘cure all’. Like the Sham-wow of coral reef restoration.

That being said, both approaches leave something to be desired aesthetically, and Jason Decaires Taylor has the winning hand, there. I just hope that the concrete base can sustain coral life for long periods of time, as Biorock claims to be able to do.

In addition to intentionally created artificial reefs, I also came across an unexpected and unintentional source of artificial coral reefs — the offshore oil industry. I had never thought of it before, but oil rigs also act as artificial reefs. Though I’m sure the health of marine life around active rigs is up to debate, this video shows oil rigs teeming with life:

The unintentional results of an ultimately environmentally damaging industry, are amazing. Yet decommissioned oil reefs are taken apart or even blown up, destroying the newly created reefs along with them, adding insult to injury, but there is hope. Here is a link to the Rigs-to-reefs program taken on by the U.S. Department of Interior in Texas.

My favorite method that I have found was good ol’ fashioned gardening. There is no electricity, sparing use of concrete, and a wonderful educational element behind what biologists in Fiji and the Florida keys are doing. Here are two videos about coral proliferation, or ‘coral gardening’.

http://vimeo.com/16809813

To create new coral reefs, there must be a combination of good science, simple gardening (coral proliferation), and good site location with a suitable substrate. That is a lot to ask, but it is frustrating to see other examples of projects that are driven by people with no patience or true appreciation for science. Like these concrete cube frames thrown into the ocean by the Thai government, or Osbourne reef attempt off the coast of Florida.

Just because sea-wrecked ships look cool, and eventually grow coral, doesn’t mean throwing trash in the water will ‘help the fish’ and give them a place to live.

There is an underlying irony to all of this, in that every example I found made the case that these artificial reefs can help the fishing industry, or provide a new place for tourists to go, when both of those things are causing the problem. From what I have seen on Koh Chang, boat loads of tourists are adding to the problem of coral bleaching, and the reefs need tighter regulation. In other locations, there has to be a moratorium on fishing, allowing time for fish populations to bounce back before people start fishing on a larger scale again. Coral reefs are not only a source of biological information to be studied, like the rain forests of the world, but are new frontiers in governance. I admire all the efforts I have mentioned in this article, and hope they continue to provide new places for people to study coral, and learn about the life cycles in the ocean.

Elephant Sculpture on Koh Chang: progress photos

Here’s an update on the elephant sculpture. Not finished yet, but getting there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magic! These are just progress photos, the model should really start shaping up when I go back and visit the real thing! Her name is Churi.

 

Elephant Sculpture on Koh Chang

After looking around Wat Salak Phet I started asking the people still working there painting the sculptures, when the sculptor was coming back, and if I could help when he does. Everyone said he left in a hurry for another job, and no one really knows when/if he is coming back. Too bad, I really wanted to know more about the process. Although I can deduce a little bit about how the sculpture is made, that still tells me nothing about what kind of cement mixture he is using, or about any kind of prep work you need to do to the surface before applying the ornaments. I don’t even know how long you leave the cement in the plaster mold before the cement completely adheres to it! I’m sure there is plenty of steps I am missing, and the only way to know is to see it done.

When I was asking around about the sculptor I had photos of my work with me, and the head monk of the temple came over to take a look. He was impressed and said I could make a sculpture for the temple if I wanted to, and they would provide the supplies! Since Koh Chang means ‘elephant island’ I suggested making an elephant. The monk showed me a patch of grass where I could make a large sculpture, which was nice, but I didn’t want to get in over my head.

First I needed some clay so I could make a few quick studies, or maquettes. I asked one of the painters, Phoom, who spoke english, if he knew where I could get clay. He said yes, and that I could come back the next day to go with him to pick up some clay. The next day, he took me to a ditch further down the road and sure enough, there was clay there with rocks and roots and all! I could tell it was nice white clay, and it was going to take some work, but it was free–and I can go back for more any time I like.

So it took a full week just to dry out the clay, crush it up, take out the big rocks and roots, and let it sit in water for a night. There were still too many little rocks in the clay, so I had to filter it a second time with a finer screen. Now I have a pretty good amount of clay, but it is still slip (clay in liquid form).

 

 

I managed to dry enough in the sun to make a maquette. Here it is:

 

Here I am working on the maquette, with the head monk, Pa Ahjahn.

and it took another two weeks before I could get a ride to the mainland to buy some plaster for a plaster table for drying out wet clay. Now I have the plaster table, and some old plaster molds I found in the inner temple courtyard but they still need to dry out before proper use.

      The lack of readily usable clay doesn’t prevent me from getting started on the larger elephant model. The temple has plenty of extra steel rod lying around, and there is a workshop down the road with a welding machine. The workshop I went to is used mainly for boat repair.

Plenty of space to weld an elephant armature! First time I’ve welded without gloves, and in flip flops!

Next, I applied drywall plaster to the armature. Now all I have to do is wedge out a lot of clay…

Sculpture at Wat Salakphet

‘Wat’ is Thai for temple, and Salak Phet is the fishing village down the road from Salak Kok, where I am staying on Koh Chang.

  After my first week on Koh Chang I went down to Salak Phet to see the temple that was built over the last couple of years. I was very impressed with how elaborate the temple was for such a small town. The temple is surrounded by a giant snake, and each corner has a god representing north, south, east, and west.   Here is the impressive entrance.

After walking once around the temple I noticed that some parts were still unfinished.

As a sculptor, this is actually a great opportunity to learn more about how the Thai sculptors work. It is a combination of modeling and sculpting cement, and mold making. Everything is added directly to a steel armature and built out. In the photo above, you can see the armature of the elephant still exposed, as well as the partially finished underlying form. When I walked into the inner courtyard I found more clues on how the sculptures are made.

It looks like for ornaments/elements of finer detail, small molds are made for fast application. For example, above you can see leftovers from the scales on the snake. I imagine it’s the same process for all of the little ornaments. They are applied to a built out form.

So I imagine that for the snake, first they made a long, rolling tube-cage out of steel rod, and then wrapped that in chicken wire, then applied the first coat of cement. After achieving a uniform shape, they then started adding the scales with little plaster molds for days and days… a little silly, but more direct, and probably faster for unique sculptures like these. There is also a second kind of white cement, which is kind of a mix between plaster and cement, which is used for the detailed top layer in places where the molds don’t fit, like when the snake bends around a corner. It’s very interesting to see, and I hope the sculptor comes back soon, although it looks like he left in a hurry…

Practice piece/ Übungsstück

I’m far from Granite country, ladies and gents. Out here in Germany, they most carve sandstone. There may be work for me in the future, but first I have to show that I can also carve sandstone like they do in the old country.

This piece is being done entirely by hand (no pneumatics or angle grinders) and without pointing. It’s not exact, it’s not as accurate as I’d like it to be, but it’s been a great learning experience. Sandstone is a delight to carve, and is very much like modeling in clay, as opposed to the uphill battle that is granite carving.

 

The stone I chose wasn’t big enough to fit the entire body of the dophin, and I didn’t want to do the extra work of measuring to make a half size version so I could fit the entire body into the stone. In hindsight, that may have been easier and more beneficial… the version I am making now is the dolphin coming out of the water, without the fin on his back.

Hopefully I get this done before I bounce to Thailand for the winter!

 

 

It’s getting dark much earlier these days, and by the time I want to take some photos at the end of the day it’s dark already. The hold doesn’t help me hold the camera steady, either… here is the practice piece with the model I am loosely working from. It’s a kind of baroque dolphin that you would see in Italy — in fountains, door handles, belt buckles, etc. Not much like a dolphin at all, aber ist einfach so.

This is still very rough. Lot of work to go, but I love how fast things can go once you know what you want. I am not really at a point where I can fluently make observations and then go to the right chisel to get what I want. It’s trial and error until the owner of the shop comes by and say, “What the hell are you doing? You do it like this…”

The chisels that one uses for sandstone are very different from the chisels for granite. They are all very thin and sharp, and you never pound the stone directly. It’s more like modeling with a rake tool in clay. You might notice that some of the surfaces are pretty smooth. That’s because I have no idea what I am doing and I wanted to try out the flat chisels. I know now that the entire sculpture should be covered in rake marks (the striped pattern on the back created by a 4 toothed chisel) until the very end.

After showing the pictures to Jerry from Barre  he reacted with a similar, “what the hell are you doing?” but after the initial wave of criticism he softened up and said I should make the scales rounder, and pop in the eye so I know what I’m doing. So here’s where I’m at now.

Of course, Jerry was right. The rest of the piece seems to make more sense now. Next on the list is the lips and teeth, the I will probably finish up with smoothing out the back and doing the rest of the scales.

So this is the start of my first piece in sandstone. I have really enjoyed it, and learning about new tools and techniques. More to come later on!

GIGS, BABY!

Could I get a hell, yes!?? First travel gig. Me and the boys from Berlin gonna SHOW YOU SOMETHIN’, the 10th and 11th in ANTWERP, baby! Check us out this Saturday at the Barcode in Antwerp, Muntstraat 22. and Sunday at Cafe the Joker

 

Text in Stone

While I was at home in Vermont this Thanksgiving, I tried my hand at carving text in stone at the shop.

 

Here is my first try.

 

Here is My second attempt.

Here is the Third try in a larger font size. Just one letter in this size takes much longer to carve because of the increased depth (1/2in.) The font is Trajan.

Group Show in Prenzlauerberg

I was fortunate enough to be a part of a group show at new gallery in Prenzlauerberg across from the Kulturbrauerei called GHYCZY. To be more specific, I was exhibiting my jewelry in the section of the gallery called New Values. These are just the kind of talented artists I would like to be shown with!

Here are some Photos from the opening that at the end of September.

Thanks very much to Ksenia Obukhova for having me in the show!  Also thanks to Nick Simpson for taking these photos, and if you would like to see more pictures of my jewelry and know a little bit more about it, look under the Schmuck/Popular Usage tab on the top right corner of this page.

Foto des Tages

 

Apparently, my art was photo of the day in the Westfälische Nachrichten!

http://foto.westfaelische-nachrichten.de/fotostrecke_alt/Bilder_des_Tages/Bilder_des_Tages_15_Maerz_2011/758899_Haende_aus_Gips_des_Kuenstlers_Sean_Hunter_Williams_sind_in_der_Ausstellung_Nola_Pearls_im_Be/2.html

Thanks to Nino for the investigative reporting. The day was März 15th 2011.

 

Absalon bei Kunst-Werke Berlin

In his interview with the Ecole Nationale Superierure des Beaux-arts (Paris Academy of the Fine Arts) the artist Absalon refers to himself as an architect aspiring to “close the gap between his thoughts and his life”. The embodiment of these aspirations are his houses, or Cells, which are indeed the center pieces of the exhibition presented by the Kunst Werke Institution of Contemporary Art in Berlin. The exhibition is the most thorough presentation of Absalon’s art to date, and covers nearly his entire body of work.

Before his untimely death in Oct. 1993 due to AIDS, Absalon was realizing his most ambitious project in which six Cells of his design were to be installed in six different cities (Paris, Zürich, Frankfurt, New York, Tel Aviv, Tokyo) where the artist would then live in them for an extended period of time.

 

At first glance Absalon’s white Cells look as if they are an ultra-modern housing development from Apple Computers, but are built with the wisdom of antiquity by using measurements taken from the artists own body. Absalon painstakingly took measurements of his height, arm span, and shoulder width to serve a minimalist form and function. In addition, the houses are built for specific sties in each city, yet emphasize a complete cultural disconnect with their surroundings.

Absalon’s houses are “in no way utopian”, and are minimal to the point of playful discomfort. Once inside, one does not always have the ability to stand up straight. The rooms afford only enough room to serve basic single functions, and are intended to demonstrate how we can learn to live with discomfort through custom or routine. The Cells were originally intended to be left unkempt after fulfilling their use, making their preservation an otherworldly monument to life.

 

After viewing the entire exhibition one can see the close attention Absalon pays to process, in how he brings his Cells to life from sketch, to scale model, and finally full scale construction. The installation of sculptures on the second and third floors bear resemblance to his scale models, as if he always had something larger and more prolific in mind.

Here is a great link to a video of the exhibition and interview (Deutsch) with the director of Kunst-Werke Berlin, Susanne Pfeffer.

http://www.art-in-berlin.de/incbmeldvideo.php?id=2022