Dan Grayber's sculptures are machines that only have one function: holding themselves up. But they seem to do it well, and they definitely do it beautifully.
BLDG Blog has a nice overview of his spring-loaded sculptures, which will soon be on exhibit at Johansson Projects in Oakland, California. Here's what they say about his work:
Dan Grayber isolates machinery from its usual role of fulfilling human needs through placing it in an eternal mode of self-perpetuation. His safety-orange powder coated objects endlessly assure their survival through completing the simple and essential task of holding oneself up. These sculptures, which create problems as they solve them, exude a sovereign elegance, the dignity of not having to justify themselves to an outside source.
Above is Cavity Mechanism #6 w/ Glass Dome. In the words of the artist:
Piece is a pair of spring loaded mechanisms that wedge themselves into the inside of a cavity (the glass dome in this case), suspending themselves. Cable running between pair maintains tension on both mechanisms. If cable were to fail, both mechanisms would fall.
I would love to see how he makes them. [Dan Grayber via BLDG Blog]