SAUL BAIZERMAN
American, born Russia, 18891957
Adriana, 195057
Hammered copper and armature. 21 x 28 x 17 in. (53 x 71 x 43 cm)
Gift of Arthur and Susan Goldstone. 91.63
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Saul Baizerman was introduced to direct metal sculpture while studying
in Paris in 1925, and after returning to New York, he decided on a technique
of beating sheets of copper from both the front and back to produce beautiful
figurative forms. The resulting sculpture gave an impression of substantial
mass, although hollow and made of thin metal. This technique also enabled
Baizerman to capture the feeling of endless movement by creating gently
rolling rhythms, similar to those found in the natural landscape. Adriana
is an example of such a sculpture, using both mass and empty space to
give the illusion of solidity while conveying graceful movement.
Baizerman's technique was arduous and often painful. He hammered at copper
sheets so hard that he was often knocked to the ground by the rebound of
his hammer blow. The constant hammering and banging of metal on metal damaged
the fine motor control of his hands and impaired his hearing, while the
exposure to the poisonous oxides from soldering metal eventually led to
his fatal cancer. Baizerman felt this to be an essential part of his creative
process: "How do I know when a work is finished? When I am weak and
it is strong, the work is finished."
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