The Procession 2

We are back in our studio to begin work on the figurative rod sculptures of The Procession. Through this exercise we will determine which is the best material to produce the rod sculptures during the next phase of the project.  For now, the work at hand is to fabricate 5 life size rod figures, using aluminum, steel, and rebar.

The selection criteria are based on:

– Weight
– Bendability
– Resistance
– Cost

The figures will travel during the third Phase of this project, which represents costs related to shipping, transportation, and storage of the figures, screens and multimedia related equipment.

Materials:

– Aluminum round rod 1/2”
– Steel round rod ½”
– Construction Rebar
– Muslin

Tools:

Aka universal bender

We bolted our industrial bender into the floor of our studio to begin testing rods of diverse materials.

Finished rod figure, prior to welding the sections together.

Findings

– Aluminum breaks while bending, so it is not suitable for rod work in this project.
– We decided to work with a smaller steel round size. We are now using 3/8X36 steel round rods.