84F-10 "Brooder"

Build number:	84F-10 (lifetime start #12)
Date:	sometime in October, I think
Location:	Santa Monica beach, Tower 18
Start:	not recorded
Height:	3.5 feet (approximate)
Base:	2 feet, roughly cylindric, approximate
Photography:	half a roll of color neg w/Anne's Ricoh

This is still one of my favorite sculptures. It has a presence that comes out even in photographs. I've never done anything like it since. One reason is that I no longer do the base carving that shows here; modern sculptures take everything I have, leaving only energy enough to do basic landscaping. Another reason is that symmetric sculptures are only fun for the first half. The second part, being a mirror image, is more of a hassle and allows no room for playing. This is especially true for any complex sculpture, which requires copying many details. Still, it's hard to deny the strength of symmetry. Maybe it's built into the human perception system, and it appeals to my design sense. One of these days I'll probably try another symmetric one, but quite probably it will be no more powerful than this. It will also be just as frustrating in making the mirrored halves.

Technical Note: This page was difficult to make. The HTML design is standard but the image design had to be different. Due to the way the sculpture is integrated with its surroundings, my usual tight cropping made it look bereft. This required a compromise: adding two larger images which increase the download time, but show the piece as it should be. I worked hard, going through many iterations of crop and test before I got it as close to right as possible with the indifferent original photography. Historical Note: In the background of the builder shot you can see the Sea Castle Apartments, a Santa Monica landmark. Damaged in the 1994 earthquake, it subsequently burned. Now (July 1999) a new Sea Castle is being built on the site. A couple of years after this photograph was made, the building was repainted. The brown trim became two shades of blue, and a whale mural was painted on the south wall.

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