James (torso), 2000, everdur bronze, 38” x 27” x 9”, 72 lbs.

The life-casting James was created in 2000. Featuring the torso of a slight man, the bronze torso features a high degree of surface detail, including skin texture. The work is cast in evedur bronze, an alloy known for its high detail and a particularly warm and inviting colour.

I walked onto my back porch and saw James gardening in the backyard. It was a gorgeous day, and he was shirtless. I asked if I could cast him, and he gladly accepted. We built a frame so he could hold the contrapposto and by the time we finished, he was shaking with exhaustion, as I worked meticulously and slowly. When I cast the first plaster positive, I was struck by the irony that one could interpret his thin frame as the clichéd emaciated body of the AIDS epidemic, when he was in fact, worn thin from caring for an ill friend. I was moved by how much beauty and compassion the form encompassed. Sculpture is alchemical, so mysterious in how forms hold the ability to affect us so deeply. In preparing the bronze casting I accidentally knocked off one of his nipples and re-adhered it. When I told James this, he replied that he had had breast cancer on that exact spot, and his actual nipple had been surgically removed and put back on in the process. As the bronze patinas I can see that viewers reach out to stroke a spot on his right shoulder, with their friendly caring touch.