Sculptures the Size of Hailstones, 2018

The Old Jail Art Center, Albany, TX

PDF of interview with Director Patrick Kelly

List of works:

Wattle and Daub: Plinth, 2018 (gypsum cement)

Sculptures the Size of Hailstones, 2018 (gypsum cement, concrete, found materials, mixed media) Individual works from the series "Sculptures the Size of Hailstones"

Just bigger than a hen egg, 2018 (concrete, Texas moss rock, rubber, ink, 2.5 in. 4 in. x 3 in.)

Grapefruit I, 2017 (concrete, Texas Moss Rock, 7 x 5 x 7 in.)

Hail Scale, 2018 (gypsum cement)

Strike: Solitary Confinement, 2018 (lightning rods, copper, rope)

Old Copper Futures: 772 lbs. of #2 scrap copper from R&S Recycling, Corsicana, TX, 2018 (copper, concrete, silicone rubber, 30 x 44 x 22 in.) installed in OJAC courtyard

Notes:

The “hail scale” is used to measure the size of hailstones by comparing them to common objects like a walnut, golf ball, or teacup: hailstones the size of ____. What might be enormous for a hailstone might be a very modest size for a sculpture. Talking about the weather is often considered banal, but lately, the weather has been urgently claiming a lot more space for discussion. What happens when we ignore an important conversation or dismiss small talk (or small sculptures)? I’m interested in zooming in on details and giving them a lot of space and attention.

The sculptures the size of hailstones sit on a large plaster plinth that has woven basket forms embedded in it, forming niches and craters. Often pedestals and plinths are made to blend into their surroundings; but of course, they can never disappear. Rather than pretend they are invisible or try to ignore them, I’m interested in calling attention to the extensive volume of space that plinths take up. Focusing on these kinds of supporting roles is an opportunity to engage other kinds of making, and recognize other systems of labor, like the way the letters carved into the limestone blocks of the Old Jail remind us of the labor (and precarious wages) of the stonemasons who cut them.