"Collapsed Tetrahedron" from the series "Collapsed Platonic Solids", 2009

Series of five objects, bronze

Largest object, 9” (23 cm) diameter

The Platonic solids are five mathematical objects that have a particularly high degree of regularity. Known for thousands of years, they are named for the ancient Greek philosopher Plato who theorized that the classical elements were constructed from these regular solids. I fabricated the five Platonic solids out of bronze, the material of classical sculpture, and collapsed them by suctioning the air out of them. To me, Collapsed Platonic Solids provide a tangible illustration of the breakdown of superseded theories. In the sense of sculpture theory, the collapse turns the pure mathematical from a simple constructive object into an organic one with a vastly higher degree of complexity.