November 6, 2014 Weld of the Week #8
The figure itself is flame-cut steel and welded scrap metal, and stands on a circular pine wood base. Its conception stems from my interest in Candomblé—the Brazilian form of voodoo—and my wish at the time I made it to put some mojo out there to extend the length of my month-to-month lease on my amazing cheap studio in a former gas station on NYC's Lower East Side another 5 years. That is why the figure holds a number 5.
I guess it worked as I was able to keep the studio another 10 years!
(photo credit: Kelly Irwin)
—Linus Coraggio
October 5, 2014 Weld of the Week #4
I had a dog growing up in NYC as a kid and I started to think of the city through a dog’s perspective—which inspired this piece. The dog here is cast lead but with some random bits of steel dropped into the cast as it was drying, making for a rough ornament and patina on the dog’s sides—a metaphor for the edgy streets on which it walks. The entire dog is stuck in kind of a cage made from part of a supermarket cart, which acts as another metaphor—of pressure and containment. The city dog is not so happy but is wise.
—Linus Coraggio