Vincent King

Artist Statement

One hundred years ago career options were very limited. Now, we are inundated by choice. We are taught that you can be anything you want in life! Surely this is an incredible fortune, but it is not without its own burdens. We are constantly given examples of individuals that, through their own dedication and innovation, have changed the world or revolutionized an industry. There is almost an expectation that we achieve and do great things. If you don’t, are you failing? If happiness is not immediate, do we move on? Or does it come from dedication that requires a timeframe ill-suited to our era of immediacy? I don’t have an answer, but I do pose a question. Maybe sit and think a while. The redwood tree was salvaged from the City of Sacramento’s urban forest. The original redwood log was 20 feet long and weighed approximately 4,500 pounds. The design of the piece took on a complicated chain pattern such that, when complete, the segments of the log made into chains would roughly double in length. This is due to the links being twisted and overlapping.The majority of the work was done with an electric chainsaw. I used a two part epoxy mixture I died sky blue to fill in checks and areas I had intentionally marked with the chainsaw. I consider these blue dashes allusions to the sky. The final piece is over 35 feet-long when stretched out. It weighs approximately 1,500 pounds. There are a total of 36 complete chain links, not counting the partial links attached to the bench and clouds (6 big, 13 medium, and 17 small). Due to its flexibility, it could be installed either draped through trees, suspended, or in any manner of ways.

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