Riley Hoffman

Materials:  Steel
Dimensions: 5' x 5' x 6'
Location:  57th Street & Roe Blvd (Center Median)

Ballet Mechanique

I look at everything, and some stuff sticks with me, for whatever reason, whether it is the form, the origin, or the philosophical connotations.  Sometimes it is a hybrid of the forms, like a combination of a stalagmite, an avocado, and petrified wood blended into a completely new object.  I want my art to look like it wasn't made and it just happened or was found.  Since I have been working in steel those ideas have really surfaced, I wanted to work with steel as if it were clay, mold it, manipulate it, and take it from its extruded identity to point where its identity is almost unrecognizable, although the irony is that these surfaces and forms are only possible because of the nature of the material.  When I’m working I am usually thinking more about the essence of those things than the actual structure, however, I have a strong interest in structural engineering and physical makeup of biological systems, that is what initially sparked my interest in large-scale sculpture.

I have an interest in time, almost an unhealthy one, in relation to spans, perceptions, and the human capacity for utilizing it.  A lot of my work is very labor intensive and for me the work is the physical manifestation of time spent, it is intangible, you can’t save it, stop it, or get more.  You can only lose it or give it away.  Work reflects time and records it.  And work is the physical manipulation of energy though the constant cycle of conserving it, hence what you put in is what you get (the laws of thermodynamics make art possible, and entropy is either embraced or evaded).  I get bored really fast, so when I get an idea I’ve got to run with, get it out and physically materialized it into space before the momentum of the image or idea changes vectors or rolls to a halt.  The piece has to be a challenge, and at the time whatever piece I am working on is usually the hardest thing I have ever attempted,  I like that, and I feel like its good stress.  I try to make it test my technical skills, innovations, physical and emotional endurance, and conceptual maturity.