Phase Two
- Upon completion of the maquettes, the scale models for the touring collection entered the sculpture enlargement phase, a moment in time when the antiquity of the artist’s role crashes head-on with the technology of the 21st Century.
In a scene more likely out of science fiction film than a sculpting studio, the original studies are scanned into a computer, enlarged to their predetermined dimensions and then lasers begin cutting massive foam blocks into monumental models of the original works. These enlargements, covered first with a thin layer of clay, are then hand-sculpted with all of the details and nuances of the smaller scale works, revealing in larger-than-life form the intricate and profound impact of Thorpe’s concept.
It is at this moment when the additional team of sculpture foundries and casting consultants enter the process. Meetings between the artist, the enlargement facility and the foundry begin in earnest and an abundance of time is devoted to dissecting the technical challenges of casting Mackenzie’s precarious compositions. Physics rears its head as a worthy adversary to artistic aspirations and, ultimately, it is the master caster who must determine how, for instance, a bronze figure weighing close to 1,00 lbs. Will float in the air as it balances on a rope less than an inch think.
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