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My name is Peter Randall-Page, I'm a Sculptor, and I'm based in the southwest of England,
in the county of Devon, and I'm over here to install a sculpture for the University
of Iowa. The piece that I've made for the University is, in a way, the latest in a series
of works that I've made based on combining a random element with a very structured element.
In this case, the random element is the actual naturally eroded boulder itself. The boulder
comes from Cornwall, in the southwest of England, its a naturally eroded stone, and I, broadly
speaking, accepted that as a given; the natural shape of the stone. Then I set myself some
very simple rules to work with, and the rules in this case are there's a raised ridge over
the entire surface. It covers the entire surface, underneath as well, and that is one continuous
line. So if you were able to pick the sculpture up and follow that around, you'd get back
to the beginning. It's one continuous line. And the grooves can end and they can meet
in threes, and if you use that system you can go on without repeating yourself indefinitely.
Additionally, the piece has a kind of axis of symmetry through it and although the stone
being a naturally eroded, random shape that doesn't have symmetry, I've created a kind
of axis of symmetry so the pattern is mirror imaged on each side, but obviously has to
adapt and distort to the vagaries to the random shape of the stone itself. The beginning of
this process I suppose is actually choosing my stone and then really it’s a matter of
me familiarizing myself with this shape that I've found. Turning it over, drawing on it,
seeing where there's a natural axis of symmetry through it. And then starting off with charcoal,
drawing my lines onto the surface, and as I'm sure about what I want, painting them
on, and then starting to carve into the stone itself. My hope is that people will find the
combination of the naturalness of the stone, and the complexity of the pattern, and the
playfulness of the design that I've done. I hope they will be able to appreciate that
on a really straightforward, gut level. One of the most important things was keeping both
with the physical environment here, and also a little bit in terms of the kind of imagery,
and the background of the work in relation to the different schools of study that are
going on here at the University. I've always felt it’s incredibly important to have the
right object in the right place. You can have a wonderful sculpture in the wrong place and
it doesn't work. You can have a wonderful place with the wrong sculpture and it doesn't
work. But if you get it right, the whole can be more than the sum of the parts.