Chairs in Surf. 2003 Big Sur, CA

I’m originally from Cleveland OH, and I grew up with Lake Erie at the end of my street, so I’m used to seeing huge expanses of water. When I first moved near the ocean, I thought it would be similar. But I was immediately struck by a natural phenomenon that ended up influencing a number of subsequent projects.. the changing tides. Of course I knew that tides existed, but it was another thing to be there in person, to experience this huge, daily, physical event - the shifting of such an enormous amount of water, and how the changing water levels would conceal and reveal the land.

The ocean shore is a dynamic and rich location geologically and biologically, (and at the time, I was studying these coastal processes in addition to art). I also saw this zone as quite rich metaphorically, and even psychologically.

One of the first gestures I did in this space was to bring 3 chairs from my studio to the shore. I wanted to see how it looked and felt to place these chairs in the ocean. It was a rough surf that day in Big Sur, and in between the huge, sweeping waves I ran out and placed the chairs. I took photos, and at times I waded out to grab them back so they wouldn’t be swept out to sea.

How did it feel? It felt energizing and also a bit dangerous. Here were my humble studio chairs that I’d been using for years, that I had just been sitting on that morning, in contrast with the overwhelming scale and power of ocean. I felt like this action, this juxtaposition put things into perspective.. my indoor, private life and creative work, with the immensity of nature. In the end, I took all the chairs back to my studio, crusted with salt, and put them back into normal use. I felt that they had been infused with a new energy, and brought some bit of magic back into the studio. This experiment led to thinking about making a sculpture specifically for this zone, and to a number of subsequent projects: Tide Bed, House, etc.