Sculptor / Painter Kelly Borsheim's Blog: Adjustable Bases Sculpture

Versatile sculpture base public art installation Italy

Dear Art Lover,

I mentioned in the last post that the legless-ness of the giant horse bronze sculpture made me wonder if the artist Gustavo Aceves intended to exhibit this piece closer to the ground or perhaps “floating” above water, as if the horse’s legs were submerged.

In any event, the massive base elevating this sculpture is very interesting. Having been married to an engineer, as well as having done a lot of weekend-type shows to sell my beeswax candles and later, my art, I have been fascinated with collapsing furniture design. Or at least, flexible, in the sense of how to use it. You might imagine how expensive it must be to create a support structure for every single public and temporary art exhibit a city might have.

So, look at the design of this base. The strong rectangular beams are supported on round columns every so often. Yet, they may attach in several different angles due to the pie-shaped wedges on the top of each pier. Simple, wonderful, versatile! Great. Painted black, the support beams are almost ignored by the brain as far as aesthetics of the art go, but physically imposing enough to keep the viewer at a natural distance for protection of all concerned. You may note that the leveling on the ground is done simply by adding slabs of plywood as needed to keep the pillars on the same plane.

http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2017/11/gustavo-aceves-horse-sculpture.html

http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2017/10/gustavo-aceves-lapidarium-sculpture.html

Today, I would like to show you one of my pastel drawings. Bologna, Italy, is famous for its porticos [covered walkways] and I was fascinated my first time in that city by how small this man I drew looked beside and within the architecture. This image gives me peace and also curiosity, as I wondered what he was watching or thinking. I liked also his child-like pose. I hope that you do, too.