Bird In Flight (v2 reprise)

Constantin Brancusi

This work is the second of mine to be influenced by Constantin Brancusi’s “Bird in Space” series of sculptures that were completed in the 1920’s–1940’s. His were were inspired more by an exploratory interpretation of a bird’s characteristics when flying rather than capturing a literal physical likeness. My reaction to Brancusi’s work was an inspirational one—specifically, to his approach of simplification of organic form but not an interpretation of a bird in flight.

My first attempt, V1, was completed in 1976 and this version, in 2020). This sculpture also relates to the COVID pandemic. It was completed at the very end of the “Before Time”—immediately before the collective awareness of the virus sunk in. “Bird in Flight, v.2” now marks a time, a transition point, which stands in sharp contrast to the times which existed before it as well as the times we faced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

V2, is not meant to literally symbolize a bird flying, COVID or anything else, This is a form of organic evolution and was the main formal goal of this sculpture.