23 Oct Big Metal Fish Sign

Aluminum + Copper Fish Sign, 2005
Recycled Aluminum, copper and plywood.
51″ H x 96″ W x 1″ D

This was originally going to be a sign for the studio…  I got this far with it and decided that I liked it better as art. I made it before I had a plasma cutter, so the whole thing was done with shears and a jigsaw.

I especially like the way that the copper fin near the gills came out all ripply and dimensional. I had intended it to lay flatter, but the copper got all bent up while I was cutting it and actually looked much better that way. It’s pretty common that the best features of a piece will be the mistakes… I could certainly have flattened it out the way I had intended it to be, but so often what makes art be art is seeing the benefit of an error before you correct and having the sense to leave it in.

The top photo is at the Hudson, NY Studio. The copper has oxidized, looks great against the weathered barn. The photo below is when the piece was first made and shinier.