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Norty

Norty

Artist: Hank Murta Adams (American, born 1956)
Date: 1988
Dimensions:
H: 28 1/8 in. (71.4 cm); W: 22 3/4 in. (57.8 cm); Depth: 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm)
Medium: Cast glass, copper, and found objects (inc. marbles, painted wire screen, and spool).
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Gift of Dorothy and George Saxe
Object number: 1993.1
Label Text:Hank Murta Adams’ sculpture appears aged and corroded, like an ancient, barnacle-covered bronze bust brought up from the ocean floor. The pitted surface of the cast glass figure is embedded with bits of metal, hinting at a painful melding of humanity and technology. Adams, who leaves much of the sculpture’s appearance to the chance of the casting process, creates imaginary characters with which he explores issues of politics, health, social isolation, and humanity’s relationship with nature and industry.

The glass figures seem to trap light inside them, a quality that adds to their ethereal presence, despite their massive form. As Adams explains, “The slight translucency of glass gives the pieces a spirit, makes them alive, moody.”
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