11
10
U.S. 1
APRIL 20, 2011
Does Art Imitate Technology?
Does Art Imitate Tech
R
emember the rotary
phone?
Around about the time of the
Studebaker, these solid black machines with a dial were the common denominator in telecommunications until the 1962 World’s Fair,
when the Touch Tone phone was
introduced. The rotary’s dial, about
the size of your fist, had holes for
your fingers to dial the numbers.
You had to wait for the dial to return to its resting point before you
could stick your pointer finger into
the hole for the next number to go
around again.
It was the waiting that led to the
demise of the rotary, after about
half a century of use. We humans
just don’t like to wait.
Sculptor Daniel A. Henderson
has created a six-and-a-half-foot
long rotary phone out of black Belgian marble, bronze, steel, vinyl,
aluminum, and wood, weighing in
at just over 5,000 pounds, including the base.
He has also created the iconic
pink Princess phone in pink marble. For those of the texting generation, the Princess was developed
mid 20th-century for the bedside
stand and came in feminine colors.
In the ’60s you might be watching
“Bye Bye Birdie,” doing your
nails, and talking to your best
friend on the Princess in a color
that matched your polish.
Henderson, whose work will be
on view in the Domestic Arts
Building at Grounds For Sculpture
beginning Sunday, May 1, through
October 2, travels the world to get
the materials he uses in his sculpture. In Pietrasanta, Italy, where
Michelangelo had his own quarry,
Henderson was searching for the
perfect brown marble to suggest
Bakelite for the four-and-a-halffoot Marconi radio he was making.
Bakelite shares the same era as the
rotary phone. It was one of the first
plastics developed for its non-conductive, insulating properties, used
for appliances and later for jewelry,
billiard balls, Mahjong tiles, and
pieces for checkers, dominoes, and
other games. (For the Marconi radio, he eventually found a Rouge
de Roi stone that conveyed Bakelite.)
In a stone yard that specializes
in imports from Iran, Henderson
spotted a beautiful light through a
corner as the sun came through. He
sprayed the stone with his water
by Ilene Dube
sprayer to see how the stone would
look after it was polished and
found the pink onyx that suggested
the Princess.
“It was the first time the stone
suggested the object for me,” says
Henderson in a phone interview
from Medford, Oregon, where he
is visiting family. “It made me
think of what Michelangelo said
about releasing the object trapped
in the stone.”
Remarkably, Henderson is not
only a sculptor, he is an inventor,
with 26 patents to his name. He assisted Kazuo Hashimoto, the inventor of caller ID and the modern
answering machine, and also
worked with Jack Kilby, inventor
of the computer chip. On his own,
Henderson founded several technology companies and invented
the wireless picture phone.
In 2007, when a prison security
guard used a cell phone to videotape the execution of Saddam Hussein, and it quickly spread around
the world via the Internet, so that
even small children — including
‘I am interested in
the global impact
of technology on
humankind,’ says
artist Daniel
Henderson.
Henderson’s own children —
could watch it, he began to question the use of the technology he
was creating.
T
he wireless video was something Henderson had contributed
to developing. “This event propelled me to think deeply about the
use of technology and how it connects us interculturally yet somehow divides us interpersonally,” he
writes in an artist statement on his
website.
One reason phones feature so
prominently in his work is because
he wants to provoke people to talk
about technology, not just use it to
talk. Just as today, when visitors to
Stonehenge wonder what the objects meant in their time, Henderson hopes that his stone sculpture
will tell future generations about
the times we live in. “It’s not just
R
Eye to the Past:
‘Premo’ (brass and
nickel plated
ememberbrass,
the rotary
phone?
steel, aluminum,
Around about
the time of the
enamel
paint,
Studebaker, these solid black mapowdercoating,
chines
with a dial werecast
the combronze,
andinglass)
by
mon
denominator
telecommunications
untilHenderson.
the 1962 World’s Fair,
Daniel
when
the this
Touch
Tone
Photos
page
and phone was
introduced. The rotary’s dial, about
Bruce
M. had
White
theopposite:
size of your
fist,
holes for
your fingers to dial the numbers.
You had tolooking
wait for
dial to
renostalgia,
at the
objects
from
turnpast,
to its
before
you
the
butresting
wherepoint
we came
from,
could
stick your
pointer
finger
into
and
looking
ahead
to where
we’re
the
hole
for
the
next
number
to
go
going,” says Henderson, who
aroundaagain.
spends
lot of time in New Jersey.
the board
waitingofthat
ledJersey
to the
He Itiswas
on the
New
demise
of
the
rotary,
after
about
Institute of Technology in Newark
halffabricates
a centuryhis
of sculpture
use. We humans
and
at varijustfacilities
don’t likeintoHamilton.
wait.
ous
Sculptor Daniel
A. Henderson
Henderson
also travels
to Xiahas in
created
a six-and-a-half-foot
men
Southern
China, where he
longbeen
rotary
phoneto
outparticipate
of black Belhas
invited
in
gianShanghai
marble, bronze,
steel,and
vinyl,
the
Biennale,
is
aluminum,
wood,
weighing
in
working
on and
a few
pieces
that will
at
just
over
5,000
pounds,
includevoke shared memories for China,
ing the
base.
just
as his
Black 500 phone does
He has also created the iconic
here.
pink
Princess
phoneininthe
pink
mar“I am
interested
global
ble. For those
of the texting
impact
of technology
ongenerhuation, the Princess
was all
developed
mankind,”
he says. “We
have an
mid 20th-century
the bedside
identity
with the forblack
rotary
stand and
in feminine
phone
fromcame
earlier
times. Wecolors.
may
In the ’60s when
you might
be watching
remember
Grandma
called
“Bye
Bye
your
on
it, and
the Birdie,”
stories shedoing
told. That
nails, may
and be
talking
to your
best
phone
different
in Russia
friend
on Ithe
Princess
in asomecolor
or
China.
want
to create
that matched
your polish.
thing
that activates
dialogue and
Henderson,
whose work will be
discussion for them.”
onHenderson’s
view in themother
Domestic
wasArts
a
Building at Grounds
Sculpture
homemaker
and his For
father
was a
beginning Sunday,
May
1, through
commercial
artist. An
award-winOctober
2, travels
thefor
world
get
ning
creative
director
a TVtostathe materials
uses in his
sculption,
the elder he
Henderson
exposed
ture.
Italy,
his
sonInto Pietrasanta,
art early on, and
he where
spent
Michelangelo
hadsigns,
his own
quarry,
his
youth painting
sketching,
Henderson
wasand
searching
the
wood
working,
restoringfor
cars.
perfect
browntook
marble
“My father
me to to
carsuggest
shows
Bakelite
the the
four-and-a-halfwhere
we’dfor
study
design of racfoot
Marconi
radio
heWe
waswent
making.
ing cars and lettering.
out
Bakelitetaking
shares athe
same pad,
era asand
the
fishing,
sketch
rotarytalk
phone.
It was oneand
of thedrew
first
we’d
perspective
plastics
developed
its non-conthings
from
nature,”for
says
Henderductive,
insulatingI properties,
son.
“Ironically,
wanted toused
be
for appliances
later
for jewelry,
everything
my and
father
wasn’t.”
billiard
balls, Mahjong
tiles, and
He graduated
from Southern
pieces for
checkers,with
dominoes,
and
Oregon
University
a bacheother
games.
(For
the
Marconi
ralor’s degree in business in 1984.
dio,had
he eventually
Rouge
He
interned atfound
IBM,a selling
de Roi stone
that small
conveyed
Bakedisplay
writers,
business
lite.)
computers,
and typewriters.
In a stone
that specializes
“The
IBM yard
Selectric
II was a
in
imports
from
Iran,
great machine,” he says.Henderson
“I loved
spotted
a beautiful
light
through
that
it was
so tactile,
and
I missa
corner
asreally
the sun
came through.
He
that.
You
connected
with the
sprayed
the
stone
with
his
water
machine, and we’ve lost that con-
by Ilene Dube
sprayer to see how the stone would
look after it was polished and
found the pink onyx that suggested
the Princess.
“It was the first time the stone
suggested the object for me,” says
Henderson in a phone interview
from Medford, Oregon, where he
is visiting family. “It made me
think of what Michelangelo said
about releasing the object trapped
in the stone.”
Remarkably, Henderson is not
only a sculptor, he is an inventor,
with 26 patents to his name. He assisted Kazuo Hashimoto, the inventor of caller ID and the modern
answering machine, and also
worked with Jack Kilby, inventor
of the computer chip. On his own,
Henderson founded several technology companies and invented
the wireless picture phone.
In 2007, when a prison security
guard used a cell phone to videotape the execution of Saddam Hussein, and it quickly spread around
the world via the Internet, so that
even small children — including
‘I am interested in
the global impact
of technology on
humankind,’ says
artist Daniel
Henderson.
Henderson’s own children —
could watch it, he began to question the use of the technology he
was creating.
T
he wireless video was something Henderson had contributed
to developing. “This event propelled me to think deeply about the
use of technology and how it connects us interculturally yet somehow divides us interpersonally,” he
writes in an artist statement on his
website.
One reason phones feature so
prominently in his work is because
he wants to provoke people to talk
about technology, not just use it to
talk. Just as today, when visitors to
Stonehenge wonder what the objects meant in their time, Henderson hopes that his stone sculpture
will tell future generations about
the times we live in. “It’s not just
E
‘P
n
s
e
p
b
D
P
o
nost
the
and
goin
spen
He
Inst
and
ous
H
men
has
the
wor
evo
just
here
“
imp
man
iden
pho
rem
on i
pho
or C
thin
disc
H
hom
com
ning
tion
his s
his y
woo
“
whe
ing
fish
we’
thin
son.
ever
H
Ore
lor’s
He
disp
com
“
grea
that
that
mac
.” He is
he says
impulse
ys gone
gh card
nificent
ng,” he
that reare bel of our
ch with
otes all
ens up a
efore, a
es cong accelack 500
ompare
average
— and
at comonic obr past.”
e dial to
plation,
u could
d maybe
. Today
ed order
made in
-lasting
chnolobility to
nderson
age and
ed facefamily,
how we
n life.”
t he deactility.
beings
legs so
that we
e handn don’t
nymore,
’re not
gh how
e used.
ting somputer-
artist is
s, using
ms never
one,” a
in at a
a black
er — a
rojector
binocuin his
advent
ernet. “I
yself to
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Linda Richter
Face Time: ‘Talk
Show’ (Chinese black
granite, nickel plated
brass, and enamel
paint) by Daniel
Henderson.
make a large-scale piece that is hyper-realistic, that would look and
feel like the real device,” he says.
The problem he had to solve as
an inventor and an artist was what
would a viewer actually see in this
combination of stone, metal, and
electronics. The result is an LCD
display of the Yellowstone geyser,
Old Faithful, erupting.
“Premo” is a seven-foot-tall
work, made in Moroccan black
marble, bronze, and glass, that recalls the Kodak Primo camera with
its collapsible bellows. “In some
cultures, if you take their photo,
they believe you are stealing a part
of their soul,” says Henderson.
“But in ‘Premo,’you’re looking inside the soul of the camera. Looking into its dark abyss, it looks like
a human eye.”
Henderson will be featured on
Wednesday, May 4, at noon, for one
of Grounds For Sculpture’s new
Salons — events that include conversation with an artist and lunch at
Rat’s. Art Salon III: Sculptura is described as “a relaxing and stimulating meet-the-artist event over a
gourmet meal at Rat’s Restaurant
while sharing ideas with artists and
fellow patrons of the arts.”
Spring and Summer Exhibition, Grounds For Sculpture, 18
Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. First
day for shared exhibition featuring
“In Balance,” 11 large scale wood
and metal works by James Surls;
“The Art of Invention,” sculptures
by Daniel A. Henderson; and
“Plugged In,” interactive artworks
by seven electronic media artists.
Gallery talk by Surls at 1 p.m. On
view to October 1. Three new
sculptures in the park are by artists
India Blake, Peter DeCamp
Haines, and Seward Johnson. 609586-0616 or www.groundsforsculpture.org.
Also, Art Salon III: Sculptura,
Grounds For Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. Wednesday, May 4, noon to 3 p.m. Daniel
A. Henderson is the featured artist.
Register. $50 for GFS members;
$55 non-members. Includes lunch
and a glass of wine (for those over
age 21). 609-586-0616 or www.groundsforsculpture.org.
nection with touch screens.” He is
speaking on an iPhone as he says
this. “The electronic impulse
opens up the Internet. In days gone
by we had to search through card
files.
“The iPhone is a magnificent
device, don’t get me wrong,” he
continues. “These phones that receive pictures and video are becoming the remote control of our
lives, helping us stay in touch with
family and check stock quotes all
on one device.”
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multiple generations had that com- cultures, if you take their photo,
mon experience. These iconic ob- they believe you are stealing a part
jects are mile markers of our past.”
of their soul,” says Henderson.
The very waiting for the dial to “But in ‘Premo,’you’re looking inreturn allowed contemplation, side the soul of the camera. LookHenderson points out. “You could ing into its dark abyss, it looks like
compose your thoughts and maybe a human eye.”
hold off if you were angry. Today
Henderson will be featured on
we quickly fire off a canceled order Wednesday, May 4, at noon, for one
or a military instruction made in of Grounds For Sculpture’s new
haste, and it can have long-lasting Salons — events that include conand dire consequences.”
versation with an artist and lunch at
Another cost of all this technolo- Rat’s. Art Salon III: Sculptura is degy is that we have lost the ability to scribed as “a relaxing and stimulatconnect face-to-face. Henderson ing meet-the-artist event over a
believes this has led to road rage and gourmet meal at Rat’s Restaurant
a decline in civility. “We need face- while sharing ideas with artists and
to-face time with friends, family, fellow patrons of the arts.”
and colleagues to express how we
Spring and Summer Exhibifeel and what is important in life.”
tion,
Grounds For Sculpture, 18
Henderson laments what he describes as the erosion of tactility. Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. SunHe observes that human beings day, May 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. First
were created with arms and legs so day for shared exhibition featuring
they could work, but now that we “In Balance,” 11 large scale wood
only need fingers to activate hand- and metal works by James Surls;
held devices, and children don’t “The Art of Invention,” sculptures
even go outside to play anymore, by Daniel A. Henderson; and
obesity is epidemic. “We’re not “Plugged In,” interactive artworks
very good at thinking through how by seven electronic media artists.
these devices should be used. Gallery talk by Surls at 1 p.m. On
They’re powerful in affecting so- view to October 1. Three new
cial change but lead to computer- sculptures in the park are by artists
India Blake, Peter DeCamp
based crimes,” he says.
Being both inventor and artist is Haines, and Seward Johnson. 609one and the same, he says, using 586-0616 or www.groundsforcreativity to solve problems never sculpture.org.
Also, Art Salon III: Sculptura,
solved before. “Yellowstone,” a
three-foot piece weighing in at a Grounds For Sculpture, 18 Fairton, including its base, is a black grounds Road, Hamilton. WednesBelgian marble Viewmaster — a day, May 4, noon to 3 p.m. Daniel
sort of handheld slide projector A. Henderson is the featured artist.
with two eye pieces like binocu- Register. $50 for GFS members;
lars, used by Henderson in his $55 non-members. Includes lunch
childhood, long before the advent and a glass of wine (for those over
of video games or the Internet. “I age 21). 609-586-0616 or www.wanted to challenge myself to groundsforsculpture.org.
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