This is a section of the larger, 36′ tall Bandshell, one of nineteen (19). This triangular rib band is a truckable entity. We had to create new planes of reference for each section in the computer model, using Rhinoceros Software, and bring those sections down to the floor, rotating them so the plane of reference was a horizontal plane, useful to grid and jig and stand up frames at angles and direction and cut, weld and fabricate conveniently for the worker. We had made about nine aluminum sections, big, heavy and welded, when Frank’s buyer pulled out. He eventually found a new buyer, but it required a new fabricator, which turned out to be in France.

This is the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Martin Puryear’s, “The Witness” is 40’ tall made of bronze plating with stainless steel frames. I didn’t know before this that those two metals weld beautifully together.

We had to install this piece at site and hired a crane to help us. When we showed up we wanted to move the crane into position and the building engineers said wait, wait, stop. The courtyard was the roof to the garage below and it won’t hold the weight of the crane. So, we had to stop and go back to the drawing board until everything was checked, and in fact the crane would be allowed to get into position. We never suspected.

I haven’t written anything for this yet.

We are in Singapore now. These works and five others similar to them are called “Singapore Brushstrokes” and they surround and adorn a skyscraper. They were created by Roy Lichtenstein, who had the coolest studio I ever saw. He had a room 50’ x 40’ and 20’ ceilings and on three sides the walls were cover with full floor to ceiling easels very 36”. He could jig and hold any size canvas at any height to work on.

He made many brushstroke pieces and used to cast them in aluminum. The casting were never really flat surfaced. It was slightly rippled. The white and yellow sections were ¾” relieved from the outer plane surface, difficult to fair flat in a pattern for a mold. We suggested that we make them out of ¾” plate with holes cut out and a thinner plate lapped behind, welded. Everything came out very flat and we saved 80% of the manhours, so we were much cheaper, and actually higher quality. He was very pleased.

Tent Bay is in Boston near Symphony Hall. It was designed by a musician who won the competition and is like a broken Treble Clef which seemed fitting for being so close to the music in the hall. It is made of aluminum and the finish is sandblasted. One reason is that when it gets graffiti it can be sandblasted to new condition.

Another consideration in the design was to add a foundation leg in between the two original feet, which would serve as a dampener to motion. The concern was if 50 people, students, were sitting on the piece and started to jump up and down in unison, things might become violent and start braking.