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Search Engine II

24"L x 8"D x 18"H, 1997

Indirectly inspired by the movie The English Patient. The title character had beautiful equipment used in his exploration and map-making; reminiscent of old view cameras and finely crafted scientific instruments from the last century. This sculpture is made of solid mahogany, varnished, with brass and leather fittings.

Front: a figure in a computer-generated "wire frame" style, standing in bashful Venus of Bottecelli pose, complete with seashell. To left, a set of seven screens flip open. On an archeological dig, all dirt is passed through progressively finer meshes. Same with searching for goals, though a less obvious process.

Back: Clean slate for fresh starts and the "tabula rasa" for open minds. A draftsman's compass like an antenna, searching for signals.

Open tool kit, from bottom up: sand box from excavations of our youth; teeth resulting from my orthodontics as an adult. Seven pieces of bone white chalk, and apparatus for evaluating finds.