Just had a big piece fall apart on me after the gallery opening

My main sculpture for the local art walk last Friday collapsed. It was a big driftwood and old bottle cap piece, about four feet tall. I used a specific outdoor epoxy that said it was for 'all materials'. The humidity from the crowd must have gotten to it because the central joint gave way after three hours. I had to scramble to prop it up with some bricks I found outside. Honestly, I think we rely too much on modern adhesives for found object work. Has anyone else had better luck with just traditional wire and tension for big outdoor pieces?

2 comments

2 Comments

val22317d ago

It's a classic case of over-promising packaging. We see it everywhere now, from "all-surface" cleaners that streak to "unbreakable" tools that snap. The promise on the glue bottle creates a false sense of security, so we skip the old, proven methods. My uncle always said if a product says it does everything, it probably does nothing well. That driftwood piece probably needed a mechanical lock with the epoxy as just a backup, not the only thing holding it together.

troyp3717d ago

Man, that reminds me of a kinetic piece I tried with old bicycle gears and fishing line. Thought the line was strong enough, but a windy day at the park just shredded it. Ended up switching to thin aircraft cable and small turnbuckles for tension, which held up way better.