Who Made this? Christopher Curtis (American, 1951)
When was this made? 2006
What is this made of? Granite
Weight: 5000 pounds approx
“I have always had an interest in stone and its place in the natural world. The particular stone for this sculpture comes from a local quarry in Barre, Vermont. Barre has been a big quarry town for at least 150-200 years so there is a historical culture of stone in the area and this is where I have one of my studios. The other studio is in Stowe, Vermont. Vermont for those who don’t know is a very rich geological state. Granite, marble and slate have been nominated Vermont state rocks.
Exit Strategy is carved from a pluton of granite, which is probably 300 million years old. This means the process that formed this rock took place even before the dinosaurs. As humans I don’t think we even have the intuitive ability to understand what time means at that level. As a Zoology graduate, I look at things in a global sense, questioning how all living beings fit into this web of life and how we as humans fit into this continuum of time. Who are we? Where are we going? Most of my work falls into this questioning. I believe we are just participants in this thing we call life. Zoology and the natural world become the meeting point for my art making.
This sculpture was created during the presidency of George W. Bush, at a time when we were being led into a war where there was no clear plan to win, or even to get out. Exit Strategy is therefore a representation of what was happening politically in the world; but it also represents an exit portal for people. A gate that allows people to find their way out of where they currently are and into a new place.
The process of cutting the hole was done by using a large computer-controlled diamond wire saw. Cutting the entire hole took approximately 20 hours. The smoothing out of the inner circle takes much longer, probably two to three weeks. I tend to work on more than one sculpture at the same time, partly due to the various processes involved in creating a sculpture. For example, polishing a sculpture is quite a repetitive process which causes a lot of body fatigue, so normally one would do it for three hours and then would move on to a different task, or artwork. I have a studio assistant who helps me, but I also collaborate with skilled trades people like polishers, or welders depending on the need.
I was formally trained in art sculpture by Paul Aschenbach, a great mentor who had an interesting approach to teaching. Aschenbach pushed his students to master and explore as many techniques and materials as possible, in order to increase one’s physical vocabulary. So as one of his students, I forged metal, cast steel, worked silver, welded aluminum, carved wood, worked with plastic and molded clay. None of these techniques though were showed to me in class. Aschenbach in fact, would very rarely show us how to do something. He focused his lessons on the philosophy of art rather than on the formal instruction of, for example, how to handle a chisel. He taught me that if I needed a skill, I needed to understand it and learn it; a style of learning and creating which has stayed with me to this day.”
Fun facts: Chris Curtis’ mother who lived in to her mid-90s would always insure he signed his work, but always felt the signature should be bigger.
View Sculpturesite Gallery, “Inside the Sculptor’s Studio: Chris Curtis” (3.19 minute video, 2017)
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