Icarus

[julie zarate]

actually, there are few things that are bothering me about the piece that i don't feel it's actually "complete" but i'm okay with this for now.

this upper part came apart after i began to "secure" the back end [with the sun] to it. i added more eye hooks to both the bottom and middle piece to weave wire through and make it extremely secure. that piece ain't going nowhere, i can tell you that. i'm quite pleased with how almost everything in the work has some meaning to the myth. the bottom of the statue is painted in hues of blue greens with a raw umber wash to give it an aged feel. you can make out the white squiggles that represent the Icarian Sea [named after Icarus who met his demise there after flying too high where the heat of the sun melted the wax on his wings, causing him to plummet to his death. white markings on his arms and legs represent the fallen feathers.]

the "sun" is actually a pendulum from an old salvaged clock, turned upon itself and painted in hues of verdigris and tarnished brass. the hinged wings turned out great, though the rusting agent made the bottom most "bones" rather frail. i had to secure them with bits of copper on either side. i also need to buy more nuts and bolts in this size, i just love them so much that i ran out at just the right time.

the clockwork innards are somewhat of a nod towards Daedelus, Icarus's father, who was a great tinkerer. he was commissioned by the king of Crete to create the labyrinth which held the Minotaur. The wings were just one of his many inventions. the nails in the bottom portion of the piece represent the perils of the journey. the hinges, as mentioned before, actually move. here are two different shots:

i wish i had a better set up to photograph this. it looks stunning in natural light, but i don't have a lot of room to work with. ideally, i'd like to be able to exhibit this locally [packing it for shipment will prove be impossible, since a lot of the features are so delicate].

and just a note of interest, the large hinge on front standing before him was fitted with three holes. the top most made a perfect opening for a cog and spindle from the clock, it's fitted with a resin heart. the bottom most hole has a clock hand secured with a nut and bolt. and, interestingly enough, the middle hole just happened to be positioned before the crotch. yet another clock piece, a bolt with screws on the end, served as just the thing to secure the piece with a small nut. a side view reveals and erect penis. honestly, it was just for mechanical purposes ... i assure you. my point is, i was pleasantly surprised the way these things work themselves out. form and function at its finest.

more views here
progressions here

also, it's lost in the final project, but there is a skull that sits between his heels, representing death. here's a photo of it before i attached the sun [because it is attached to the footing of that piece].

[Yvonne K. Villareal-Torres]

I love assemblage,it just looks so intimidating to me.