Normanno Wedge

Cast Iron

Beverly Pepper, 1980

Created in the 1980s, it was during this period Pepper departed from her work in mainly cor-ten steel in the 70s, to a long period of cast iron sculptures. She sought to create something beyond the simple wedge shape, this sculpture representing both tools, and how tools are representative of civilization as a whole.

Pepper, heavily influenced by industrialization and urban environments, chose such materials as a reflection of the contemporary and modernist art that was, at the time, being influenced by their major metropolitan surroundings. She worked extensively in iron foundries at the time, notably working in John Deer production facility. She embraced cast iron in spite of its drawbacks, its difficulty of use and extreme weight, because of the ability the material has to curve, its tendency for ‘happy accidents’ and the primal appeal of a changeable material.

Other Cast Iron Works

“Everything has iron in it, a tear has iron in it.” Beverly Pepper

Chalet Alexander: Video, research, web design

Images: http://www.beverlypepper.net

Documentary video:  Nor’easter Conference