Artwork Details
- Title
- Wood Necklace #11
- Artist
- Date
- 1994
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 17 x 15 1⁄2 x 2 in. (43.2 x 39.4 x 5.2 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the James Renwick Alliance
- Mediums Description
- fabricated, raised, chased, repoussaged, machined, and painted maple, cedar, copper, tagua nut, pre-fossil horse tooth, glass eye, Micarta, brass, aluminum, stainless steel cable, paints, and pigments
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Figure — fragment — hand
- Fantasy
- Object Number
- 1996.48
Artwork Description
Wood Necklace #11 is one of a series of objects that include Buddhist prayer beads. In this piece, Bruce Metcalf combines unusual elements, including a tagua nut and a prefossil horse tooth, with the prayer beads to evoke the mystery and wonder of ancient ritual. The cartoon-like female figure struggling to emerge from the leafy pod comments on the human condition in contemporary life. Metcalf leaves the viewer to construct a narrative about the figure and to find individual meaning through reflection.