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STATEMENT

Bronze casting was an involvement between 1965 and 1986. In 1986 ceramic slip casting became the primary focus. Labor, cost of materials, access to studio facilities, and the potential of introducing color into the work were all contributing factors in the change to ceramics. In 1986 the works were cast bronze mounted on cast glazed ceramic tiles. This was followed by cast ceramic forms mounted on the cast glazed ceramic tiles. At this point, the flat tiles have become 3 dimensional and support bronze or clay castings, wood or Plexiglas constructions, or anything within the general category of found object. Casting as an indirect process continues to be a personal fascination and technical challenge. Casting also lends itself to modular thinking. Cast modules address the barrier of scale that can inhibit sculptural ceramics. The most recent works "PLACES OF CEREMONY AND REFLECTION" evolved from an earlier series of small cast bronzes called ,"THE JAPANESE SERIES". The Japanese series was influenced by contemporary Japanese sculptural forms. The bronzes were set on cast glazed ceramic tiles to introduce color and flat surface design as well as establish site. The Places of Ceremony and Reflection now use both flat and dimensional tiles. These tiles are used to support small bronzes, cast and hand built ceramics, Plexiglas and wood constructions, stones, commercially cast figures, and other found objects. Each completed casting suggests an urban or at least structured environment which in turn dictates the addition of details and recognizable imagery. The goal is to trigger memories or past experiences that will become a reflective reverie without relying on exact copies of nature. The Places of Ceremony and Reflection are meant to engage a larger audience through the use of recognizable imagery placed in imaginary landscapes and architectural fantasies.

7 separate, different, and interchangeable modules make up the present CAM system. My wife Jo said the project looked like a cam shaft, hence the CAM acronym. CAM is a mutable acronym that usually means Ceramic Architectonic Modules. It can also mean Collective Architectural Machinations, Chromatic Artistic Musings, Commemorative Archival Memory, or some other phrase as of yet undeveloped. Most of the CAMs are merely numbered according to the original 7 modules. Theme or narrative were not early concerns. Each of the 7 interchangeable modules are composed of 2 castings slip joined before firing. Each fired module is about 31 inches in height (kiln capacity). The CAMs shown are made up of 2 modules mounted on a 3 foot base, bringing the display height to 8 feet. The base has an internal steel shaft to stabilize the works for display. The original models were assembled using Styrofoam packing crate inserts. The inserts were modified extensively and transitional shapes added. The insides of the plaster molds were then modified and refined further. This process can continue as long as refinement is needed. The 2 module vertical combinations generate a totemic imagery. Further personification of future CAMs is a goal. The challenges of the CAM Series are, to a large extent, technical. The need to control the surface planes made the casting process necessary. One of the original goals was the achievement of maximum sculptural complexity within the limitations of a 2 piece rigid mold system. Scale continues to be a technical as well as esthetic concern.

e-mail Tom Gross

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Updated October 6, 1997