Thursday, December 4, 2008

MIRROR MAGNETIK INTERVAL by Douglas Abdell

Who is Douglas Abdell I hear you ask? I only know what I found online at Ask Art:

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he earned a B.A. in sculpture from Syracuse University in 1970. His sculpture mediums are cast bronze and welded steel, and they are widely exhibited including the Corcoran Museum in Washington D.C. He lives in Madrid, Spain.

Here is a sculpture of his entitled, "
Pnauxae Aekyad":








The one below is called "Qurefe-Aekyad" and it is located in the sculpture park, Quadrat Bottrop (Moderne Galerie) in Bottrop/Germany.





"Aekyad," I assume, is a neologism of Abdell's, the name he has given these objects he sculpts into metallic being. Here is an article on the piece he has at Stanford University (USA):

http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/tip/2004/aug20/sculpture.htm




"In 1973 Abdell moved to South Strafford, Vermont and created his first in the Kryad sculpture series. Abdell’s geometric sculptures, painted black, are the three-dimensional embodiment of calligraphic sketches. He has compared his work to the components of language, and his forms, as well as the titles of his sculptures, relate to this alphabetical metaphor."



In 1999 I found a xerox handwritten/drawn/colored booklet by Douglas Abdell and co-author Begonia Korta-Zaharra (of whom I've found nothing online) for sale. The title?

MIRROR MAGNETIK INTERVAL

The copy I first bought was lost years ago, but I recently purchased another copy from the same dealer in New York. It seems to be Issue oo (infinity). The colophon states that following issues will include the writings of others. There's also a lower Broadway (New York) address listed.

The subjects of the text are the number 8 (and the glory of 9), sacred geometry, musical intervals, "phonetic energy," the mechanics of sound, and the New York Lotto among other things that I am still trying to decipher.


Following are select pages from the booklet:






Cover






Abdell-ian Terms





The Star Mekanics of 8






On page 20 we find the Infinetely Develooping the 8 (sic)







This one is located in John Jay Park in New York





"Octaves of vibration"





back cover


A 1980s article in Italian on Abdell's contribution to "Gothic Futurism":




LINK

1 comment:

Douglas Abdell said...

It was great to see your interest in my work....here are two web pages of other periods....
www.douglasabdell.com
www.abdellmagua ..
Douglas Abdell