Low Tech
The term high tech describes the most recent developments in our technology. As research and development continues much of what we call high tech today could be classified as low tech in time. My art piece represents that technology that has been left behind. I sculpted this head in wax and let the poor fellow sleep as the world passed him by. A mold was made and the bronze cast poured that you see above but what you don't see is the other side of his head. This is his best side if you can imagine that. A large portion of the other side is missing. It has been reconstructed in wax and another mold made of the head. The wax was melted out of the mold and all was ready to cast the reconstructed side of his head. One additional step is needed before we cast. I had a supply of old electronic parts, radio tubes, capacitors and resistors. All were placed inside the mold through a hole in the top. Now we are ready to cast. Wont the molten bronze melt and burn up the electronic parts I put in the mold you ask?
Just stay with me on this as I mix a batch of resin and catalyst. That's right, this side of the head is cast in clear resin,small batches at a time and watching the amount of catalyst carefully so it doesn't overheat and crack the resin. The tricky part is that each successive pour add heat to the mix so the catalyst is throttled back to compensate for the residual heat. When the cast is filled it is set aside to cure before attempting to remove the mold. When the last of mold is removed the cleanup, shaping and smoothing begins.
This was all done a number of years ago, but it seemed to take an extended period of time to polish the resin side of the head so that nothing obscured the view into this guy's head. I was striving to give clarity such as looking through a window pane. I don't recall if I reached that goal. Unfortunately, Low Tech isn't around or I could check that out. A nice lady from California really fell for him and took him home with her. I think there is a picture someplace that would show that other side of his head. Let me look for it and if I'm successful I'll tack it on the end of this post.
Low Tech's Good Side
More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>
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