Wire Sculpture

The copper wire sculpture mentioned in "Chapter 6: Yodeler Maria," actually exists. To see what happens when the middle finger is pressed or released, click the middle finger.

In a telepathic discussion with the spirits Sibyl and Alexander, Merlin describes this piece of sculpture:

"If you had visited my office ... you would have noticed a copper wire sculpture sitting on my desk. It is S-shaped with a tilted-back head with a low forward connected by an extended neck to a large, sturdy-looking hand that serves as a stand. The hand is in turn supported by a splayed and downwardly arched little finger, ring finger, thumb and middle finger absurdly elevated to shoot a 'bird.' If you press the middle finger down, an inner mechanism makes the tongue protrude to form a 'raspberry.' I call this piece the Binary Insult.

"My pediatric patients were fascinated by it. They loved to push the finger down and see the tongue protrude. Then when they released the finger, the tongue retracted, causing a coiled copper spring that could be seen through the mesh to shake crazily."

When asked where he found this piece, Merlin says,

"I made it myself. It was an example of spontaneous art. I happened to see spools of 18-guage copper wire in a hardware store. Struck by the beauty of the gleaming copper, I bought several spools and a pair of needle-nose pliers.

"I discovered that if my hands were busy during therapy sessions, preteen children were more willing to talk. Gradually the sculpture just developed. I realized afterwards that my hands while working with the copper wire, were actually capturing the spirit of disrespect that characterized so many of my young patients."

18-gauge Copper Wire: "Binary Insult"

This copper wire sculpture is an S-shaped bust with a tilted-back head connected by an extended neck to a large, sturdy-looking hand that serves as a stand. The hand is in turn supported by a splayed and downwardly arched little finger, ring finger, and thumb. The entire body between the left forearm and the neck is missing, and the head is doing what might be termed a handstand.

The tip of the tongue doubles as the lower lip. An inner mechanism, visible through the wire mesh, connects the middle finger to the tongue. The finger serves as a lever causing the tongue to protrude. If you press down on the middle finger of the wire head handstand, the tongue protrudes. Release the finger, the tongue slides back inside the mouth, causing a coiled spring on the inside of the otherwise empty head to shake frantically. I titled this piece "Binary Insult" because at rest, the finger forms an obscene gesture. Press the finger down, and the tongue sticks out to produce a "raspberry."

Some observers say that the sculpture looks like an eighteenth-century figure caricatured to show a large head thrust upward on a stretched-out neck attached to what looks less like a hand than a belly-up torso, supported on "arms" consisting of the little finger and thumb, and "legs" consisting of the index finger and ring finger, with the renegade middle finger lewdly elevated.

To other observers, the wire head looks like a holographic reproduction of an attempt at three-dimensional computer graphics. Still others see it as a schematic representation of veins and arteries. The copper mesh is close enough together that at a distance the wire head looked almost solid. Up close it is possible to see into and through the head. At a middle distance it becomes a spectral presence, an insubstantial cloud of copper-colored ectoplasm floating in the air, barely visible.

Surprisingly, people seem to take this piece seriously, at least at first glance. Actually, I intended the copper wire head as nothing more than an elaborate practical joke. It is a representation of a brainless head, a mixed-up nobody, a transparent individual whose only talent is to have an obscenity at hand, at the point of the finger, and an insult on the tip of the tongue. Copper wire seemed a good medium to express this concept.

I wove the signature into the head. In the photo below, the wire on the opposite side of the head appears much smaller, but is actually the same size as the wire in the foreground. This is what is looks like:

This is what is woven into the mesh:

No one sees the bottom of the hand, since it serves as a stand for the sculpture. However, as you can see, I invested considerable care and attention in it. Here it is:

So there you have it: improvisatory flourishes with 18-gauge copper wire!