My sculptures are spare and kinetic—geometry in motion—that interact with the environment. They are animated by the wind or human touch, or sometimes both. Zen in concept, they work according to the whims of nature. Much of the time I feel like an inventor because the basis of my work evolves from ideas rather than materials. I let my ideas dictate the materials needed to realize my dreams. Then I grapple with materials in order to bring my ideas to life, using several different types not normally associated with each other. These all come together as a piece of art, sometimes bringing the sea onto the land, and other times make visible the invisible—"the wind".

I worked with a sail maker and that was when I discovered the science and technology implemented in the design of sails of modern sailboats and I proceeded to use that knowledge in my sail sculptures. The modern sail is a derivative of the Bermuda rig. It has evolved into a vertical "wing" using the same aerodynamic principles that allow the wings of birds and planes to lift off the ground. Sometimes my sails move slowly up and down in a ballet-like motion, rather than flapping like flags or moving like sails on a boat; in light air my sails are often held aloft, seemingly suspended in mid air, quivering in some mellifluous design vibrating like the wings of a hummingbird.

Most recently I have focused on the "square rigged" sails of the wooden sailing ships like the clipper ships of San Francisco Bay's past as well as the sails on the Viking ships of my heritage, Norway. The sculpture Leif pays homage to both influences as well as to the famous Viking explorer, Leif Ericson who discovered North America a millennium ago. The design also pays homage to artists who influenced my artwork, like Brancusci, Arp, and Ellsworth Kelly. However, the end resulting sculpture is quite different from any of the above mentioned artists' artwork. My materials are also disparate from those used by the sailors and artists in that I used aircraft grade aluminum, untreated nylon sailcloth, grommets, and modern stainless steel sailboat attachments.

Leif, a 12-foot, 15-lb. sculpture was created for the Rotunda of the Hayward City Hall. This circular indoor space with 40-foot ceilings had three external entry doors widely spaced around the perimeter that produced only faint airflow so it needed to be very light and move very easily. The result is that Leif gently revolved underneath a circle of spot lights. Its nylon skin shimmered and produced multiple reflections in the floor to ceiling windows in this hexagonal space.

My fantasy ideas originally came from my undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico. Here I combined the simplicity of the artists that I discovered in the museums in New York with the feeling that I wanted to capture some of the energy of the unseen forces so strong in New Mexico—the Wind! The other forces shaping my early work were my teacher Charles Mattox who was one of the first kinetic sculptors in the United States, and a teaching assistant who taught us a respect for nature with Indian Poems and their reverence for the world around us.

My sculptures have been installed throughout the Bay Area in municipal and commercial buildings and plazas as well as outdoor galleries. Several of my outdoor sculptures have been installed at wineries in California's Gold Country in the Sierra foothills, including Kautz Ironstone, Chatom, and Stevenot. My commission by the City of Concord, California—"Kinetic Canopy"—was my most difficult but also my most successful sculpture to date.

Russell Herrman
PO Box 882462
San Francisco, CA 94188-2462

tel: (415) 822-4641
e-mail: KineticSculptor@yahoo.com