Coppersmith

Sculpture by Dominick Laruccia - Fanciful Wizard

I was recently contacted by a gentleman in Mission, Kansas, about a Laruccia sculpture that he had inherited  from a friend. His story is below. What interested me was that it was a character piece with a depiction of a fanciful creature in an odd pose. Mostly, the sculpted trees are the pieces brought to my attention. John Pierson, the owner of the piece, call it a "bird on a wire." He said that it had racial connotations. More on that topic below.

The piece is a charming sculpture with a cone shaped figure sitting on a telephone pole and stands 12 inches high. The figure has the left hand touching the mouth with the index finer and the right hand open and at one point holding something. The right arm has a slight dimple where the elbow would be and it may have been more upright when first made. This would make sense as the figure appears to be pondering some deep thought.

It is made from copper on a rare wood base. The telephone pole is made from 3/8 inch copper rod with the body made from sheet copper, copper wire, copper chain and copper braising alloy. The body and hat are small hand-formed cones. The head was made from two copper discs that were first rounded in a dapping die then probably pinched to form ovals. The eyes were made of copper beads. The legs and feet are copper roofing nails that had the edges folder underneath.

Restored Wizzard on a Wire

All in all, a cleaver, fanciful sculpture. What is missing are two objects that were glued to the right hand and the end of the tassel attached to the cone hat. They were most likely small, clear glass marbles as indicated by the residual epoxy cement on the piece. This leads me to rename the piece "Wizard on a Wire." I am delighted to add this to my collection of Laruccia works. I am happy to comment on any Laruccia sculptures you may have and I would be delighted to discus purchase as well. [email protected]

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

P.S. The sculpture has residual glue points on the extended hand and tassel which I replaced. The arm also was bent and the extended position restored.

 Notes and History

 From John Pierson

“Hi  I met John "Grover" Krummel in the mid 90s.  We found we had a lot in common i.e. same cars owned in the 60s when we were young, politics etc. When he got out of the navy he had been trained in communications and computers. Upon his return to civilian life and with his knowledge of computers he got a job with AT&T. He must have been good at it because he rose in AT&T to become a senior computer-software engineer for AT&T. This job transferred him all over the country from the bay area to Louisiana to Kansas City, Chicago etc. His marriage fell apart because of all the moves. After the divorce he came to Kansas City because he liked the area. This is where I met him. He had two sons who blamed him for the divorce so (there was) little contact. He had diabetes and it was severe to where he was loosing his eyesight. One morning he called me and said he felt terrible and going to hospital. He was there  15 minutes and had a massive heart attack. Unknown to me he made me his living will decider. After a week of talking to doctors I had them pull the plug and he was gone in 10 seconds. His sons told me all they wanted was the bank books and since I was his friend I could have all his possessions. In going through his things I came across what I call “the bird on a wire” which I thought/think is a neat little item so I kept it. Now you have it and I am glad it is in a good place to be enjoyed as it should be and I am sure "Grover" is also.” From John Pierson

The web had other references to the origine "bird on a wire" such as:

"Bird on the Wire" is one of Leonard Cohen's signature songs. It was recorded 26 September 1968 in Nashville and included on his 1969 album Songs from a Room. A May 1968 recording produced by David Crosby, entitled "Like a Bird", was added to the 2007 remastered CD from Wikipedia Quote from Leonard Cohen,  Leonard Cohen  At a certain point, I bumped into Suzanne Vaillancourt [?], who was the wife of a friend of mine, they were a stunning couple around Montreal at the time, physically stunning, both of them, a handsome man and woman, everyone was in love with Suzanne Vaillancourt, and every woman was in love with Armand Vaillancourt. But there was no... well, there was thought, but there was no possibility, one would not allow oneself to think of toiling at the seduction of Armand Vaillancourt's wife. First of all he was a friend, and second of all as a couple they were inviolate, you just didn't intrude into that kind of shared glory that they manifested. I bumped into her one evening, and she invited me down to her place near the river. She had a loft, at a time when lofts were... the word wasn't used. She had a space in a warehouse down there, and she invited me down, and I went with her, and she served me Constant Comment tea, which has little bits of oranges in it. And the boats were going by, and I touched her perfect body with my mind, because there was no other opportunity. There was no other way that you could touch her perfect body under those circumstances. So she provided the name in the song. Bird on the Wire So either (a) the bird and the drunk are already free and he wants to be like them or (b) that they are both looking for freedom just like he is. So for (b) 'bird on the wire' is just a bird on a telephone line. A bird who is free to do as it pleases. It can take off and land as it feels. Or (c) 'bird on the wire' is as CatJones suggested, a trapped bird. People use birdlime made from holly to stick birds feet to whatever they happen to land on. From http://boards.straightdope.com

 

 

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P.O.P. (Pile of Pipes)

Here is an "in studio" photo of a piece just completed. It is my larges piece to date and stands about 24 inches tall. Most of the materials is re-purposed scrap copper from my local metal recycling facility. The piece is composed of mostly copper pipes. I used a large sledge hammer and the anvil my father gave me to crimp the pipe into sections and cut them into various lengths. I finished the top with a solid copper sphere. The base was made from plumbing fittings, copper wire, sheet and copper shot. It is designed as a garden piece and I may accelerate the patination by applying chemicals to produce a verdigris affect. 

The inspiration came from the works of Claire Falkenstein who was a noted sculptor from the early 1900 through about 1995. Claire  was an American sculptor, painter, print maker, jewelry designer, and teacher, most renowned for her often large-scale abstract metal and glass public sculptures.  She made a series of pieces employing copper pipe and glass. 

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

Evolution of a Sculpted Copper Tree

Last year I sculpted a large copper tree, 12" in height and about 8 pounds. While the piece was fine, something about the proportions seemed wrong. One thing about copper is that it is amenable to revisions. I have used pliers to bend red hot metal into shape much like a glass blower works molten glass, repaired root structures, removed whole pieces from a base and changed marble sizes.

In this case, the branches were too long and became a dominant visual focus. The solution was to shorten the branches by 2-3 inches and add back the marble fruit. I used the change to also redo the color scheme to an olive tree look which was the model for the tree. The copper "rock" that the tree is mounted upon was made by melting down scrap copper into a solid copper nugget. The whole idea was to have a bonsia style of a tortured tree. This piece is available for purchase. 805-568-1896

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

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Copper Box Circa 2003

If it is functional, is it art? This is a copper box I made some years ago for my daughter Emily Wood and her husband Clint. It is fairly basic and made from copper and copper alloy with an applied chemical patination. I employed copper sheet, wire, ball and plumbing fittings.

It seems there is some redeeming factor in a piece when it serves a greater functional purpose than collecting dust. While I am no Benvenuto Cellini with his salt cellar, I think functional art gives a great deal more pleasure that a hands-off piece. In a article written by Michelle Marder Kamhi the question of utilitarian or functional art is explored. The great Michelangelo was said to have designed a candelabrum for the funeral chapel of the Medici's. Some would denigrate the design as too utilitarian to be art.

Cellini Salt Cellar

Michelangelo Candelabrum

In my opinion, it is all art even if there is no pretense to some lofty ideal, mythological character, bowls of fruit, grand vista and a dame with a mysterious smile. A well designed vase, candelabra, jeweled box, change holder and a dimension of pleasure to everyday tasks.

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

Earth to Energy One - Dominick Laruccia. Jr.

Earth to Energy One - First Place and the Santa Barbara Sculptor's Guild 2013 Show

 

Dominick Laruccia, sculptor, was commissioned to create a piece for the San Diego Gas Company in 1964-65. His first effort was the piece pictured above.  The materials used are copper nails, sheet copper, copper plumbing fittings, copper pipe, copper shot and a braising alloy. It stands about four feet high and sixteen inches in diameter. The color of the copper was achieved with a proprietary chemical patination. My best guess is that the copper nail armature was briased together with the aid of a steel pipe to help form the shape. I actually have the cardboard patters for the turbine stucture in my archives. I fancy that is akin to having notes from Leonardo da Vinci.

Dominick's background as an organic chemist was the catalyst for creating a double  flame shape that enveloped a turbine-like structure suspended within the flame. The piece is a masterful opus of design and execution. True to the artists temperament, he was not satisfied with the piece. He retained this sculpture and produced another that was more complex and utilized glass spheres, plumbing fittings and large copper nails.

This sculptured was relegated to the back of a closet and never was shown in public, until now. I am pleased to say that it took first place in the exhibit and I am delighted to share the sculpture with the public.

Bravo Laruccia

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

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