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Jonathan Prince is fascinated by forms that have had their surfaces interrupted by a break or fracture. Broken surfaces are inherent to the properties of stone - but not of steel. Because of a recent interest in steel fabrication, he has developed a technique that emulates the look of a fractured stone surface in metal - which he refers to as “Torn Steel”.
The process involved in creating this effect is quite involved and employs a number of procedures:
First, stainless steel plates are forged and hammered utilizing blacksmithing techniques to form a base layer - Next, additional stainless steel is applied to the surface using a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding procedure. This process actually builds the "torn" architecture forms onto the stainless surface. The next step is to use a TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas) torch to smooth and blend out the stainless steel left from the previous MIG application. When the surfaces are finally formed and the interface between the "Torn Steel" and sculptural form refined, the stainless steel can be smoothed and polished by using a series of abrasives starting with glass bead blasting and following through with a series of successively finer sandpaper grits and polishing pastes - a painstaking procedure but, I believe, worth the extensive time and effort.
Jonathan Prince is fascinated by forms that have had their surfaces interrupted by a break or fracture. Broken surfaces are inherent to the properties of stone - but not of steel. Because of a recent interest in steel fabrication, he has developed a technique that emulates the look of a fractured stone surface in metal - which he refers to as “Torn Steel”.
The process involved in creating this effect is quite involved and employs a number of procedures:
First, stainless steel plates are forged and hammered utilizing blacksmithing techniques to form a base layer - Next, additional stainless steel is applied to the surface using a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding procedure. This process actually builds the "torn" architecture forms onto the stainless surface. The next step is to use a TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas) torch to smooth and blend out the stainless steel left from the previous MIG application. When the surfaces are finally formed and the interface between the "Torn Steel" and sculptural form refined, the stainless steel can be smoothed and polished by using a series of abrasives starting with glass bead blasting and following through with a series of successively finer sandpaper grits and polishing pastes - a painstaking procedure but, I believe, worth the extensive time and effort.
Vestigial Block
CorTen and Stainless Steel
6.25 x 6 x 6 feet | 1.9 x 1.8 x 1.8 meter
2011
Vestigial Block
Detail view
CorTen and Stainless Steel
6.25 x 6 x 6 feet | 1.9 x 1.8 x 1.8 meter
2011
Torus 340 (view at IBM Atrium, NY, NY)
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
13.5 x 12 x 8 feet | 4 x 3.6 x 2.5 meter
2011
Torus 340
Alternate view
Bore Block
CorTen and Stainless Steel
8.25 x 8 x 2 feet | 2.6 x 2.5 x .6 meter
2011
Disc Fragment
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
9.5 x 8 x 5 feet | 3 x 2.5 x 1.5 meter
2011
New Growth
High Chromium Stainless Steel
32 x 32 x 9 inches | 81 x 81 x 23 cm
2012
Columnar Tear
High Chromium Stainless Steel
100 x 16 x 16 inches | 254 x 41 x 41 cm
2013
Ruptured Column
Anodized and Colored Aluminum
8 x 53 x 8 inches | 20 x 135 x 20 cm
2013
Rift
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
41 x 41 x 41 inches | 104 x 104 x 104 cm
2011
Fissure
High Chromium Stainless Steel
22.5 x 22 x 22 inches | 57 x 56 x 56 cm
2013
Slice I
High Chromium Stainless Steel
16 x 28 x 16 inches | 41 x 71 x 41 cm
2013
Slice II
High Chromium Stainless Steel | Silicon Bronze
7 x 35 x 7 inches | 18 x 89 x 18
2013
Totem II
Alternate view, IBM Atrium
590 Madison Avenue, New York, NY
Totem II
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
12.5 x 2 x 2 feet | 3.8 x .6 x .6 meter
2011
Torus 200 - 32
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
34 x 32 x 16 inches | 86 x 81 x 41 cm
2010
Torus 340 - 32
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
34 x 32 x 16 inches | 86 x 81 x 41 cm
2010
Torus 300 - 32
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
34 x 32 x 8 inches | 86 x 81 x 20 cm
2010
Disc Fragment I
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
18 x 16 x 8 inches | 46 x 41 x 20 cm
2011
Relic
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
23 x 6 x 6 inches | 58 x 15 x 15 cm
2010
Embedded Lens
CorTen and High Chromium Stainless Steel
66 x 68 x 18 inches | 168 x 173 x 46 cm
2011
Spherical Union
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
37.5 x 37.5 x 28 inches | 95 x 95 x 71 cm
2011
Inside Out
Oxidized and Stainless Steel
12 x 9 x 5 inches | 30 x 23 x 13 cm
2010