Working through problems - or those which could be anticipated - on a small scale was a worthwhile investment of time. I built three models in all, experimenting with a scale model the approximate proportions of the gallery space, and arranging the components to create the structural imagery and movement I wanted. At this stage many sketches were done, as well as physical manipulation of the model. The model itself changed as I made decisions concerning the amount of walking space necessary, the height of the units, and the visual interaction I wanted between the structure.
Tower Vision was in three structural units: a spiral tower, which one could walk through, with walls starting at a height of 4 ft. and graduating to 9 1/2 ft. at the center, formed in individual panels of about 3 ft. in width; within the spiral tower were "pictures" or "windows" of the second tower, 13 ft. in height, cone shaped, and on fire, with flames reaching through the top and sides. This "burning" tower appeared mainly as an exoskeleton from which most of the walls had burned away, revealing the structure beneath; the third structure was a series of panels which suggested a wall running between the first (spiral) tower and the burning tower. In the model this wall was continuous, but as Tower Vision evolved I realised the function of the wall was to guide, rather than completely contain, so the wall became minimal sections which directed the viewer in the path I had chosen between the spiral and burning towers.
MATERIALS Once the major decisions regarding the structure and the imagery had been made, the full scale units could be formed. I decided to make Tower Vision of handmade paper and bamboo and had used these materials in building the model. The process of changing from 13 inches to 13 feet requires consideration of structural factors, however. With the model, I had used strips of split bamboo to form the spiral tower and wall panels. On a large scale, split bamboo was too flexible to stand upright. I chose instead to use whole round bamboo, lashed together into rough rectangles and stabilized with a crossing of bamboo diagonals. For the burning tower, structure would predominate, as the paper segments of the walls had been burned away. Bamboo poles were used here also for the uprights, with curved bamboo sections (heated over a gas flame to shape) to form the supports at intervals of about 3-4 feet. In between, the structure was twined and woven with split bamboo, round reed, raffia, seagrass, and fiber rush.
In deciding which papermaking fibers to use, I settled on abaca (manilla hemp) which produced strong thin sheets using a modified Japanese method. In the first tower, delicate sheets in shades of pink and blue, yellow and white, provided a feeling of safety and beauty. In the second tower, paper forms a light covering over parts of the surface, burned and torn in places, suggesting where more total protection might once have been before the tower was engulfed by fire. The flames, too, inside the tall tower are made of paper (here cotton is combined with abaca for rigidity), but the main material of the tall tower is that of bamboo, in contrast to the primacy of paper in the first tower and wall. This use of material underscores the theme of duality and cycles which form part of the content of Tower Vision. LARGE SCALE PAPERMAKING
I had previously made individual works which I considered large, with a total dimension of about 4 x 6 ft. For Tower Vision about 35 panels of this size and larger were required, as well as a different application for the cone-shaped burning tower. Since the wall and spiral tower panels were to both be constructed of panels hinged together to form the complete structure, I dealt with them together.
The imagery for the wall panels was explosive, expressive, and abstractly narrative. To achieve that result I began by pouring large sheets rather than dipping or pulling them. Pouring was compatible with the flowing imagery, although it had two problems: the weight of the pulp tended to run or pool after reaching a certain threshold, and the sheets formed thus were difficult to make evenly. My papermaking set-up already included the use of large silkscreens on which the paper was formed; the largest I could make taut was 4 x 6 feet. I also used a wet/dry vacuum as a drying tool. With a squeegee attachment, the vacuum draws out much of the water from the pulp, speeding drying time and preventing foxing. I used the vacuum to compenstate for some of the drawbacks of pouring, vacuuming the sheet when about half dry. The dry or partially dry sheet showed up weaknesses which were difficult to detect wet, and also stabilized the imagery of the first pour so that detail could be added on or around it.
While pouring worked well enough for the wall panels, it was still not as efficient as I like. I also wanted a smoother, more delicate appearance for the spiral tower panels. One possibility seemed to be the use of a tool sold by a papermaking supplier (1) which was intended for spraying concrete, called a pattern pistol. Other papermakers had used the tool to coat molds with thin layers of pulp for sculptural works. Why not try it to spray thin, even large sheets?
The silkscreens I had built were ideal for this new system, being portable and rigid. They were easy to move around, vacuum, and rotate assembly line fashion. The pattern pistol was hooked up to a 2 H.P. compressor, and was a powerful tool which cut the sheetforming time considerably, while delivering a layer of textured, even pulp.
One note about the compressor: the instructions which came with the industrial tool specified an output of 90 p.s.i. pressure at 7.5 cfm. This amount of force is required to shoot concrete, but is much more than adequate for spraying paper pulp. It's possible that a 1 - 1 1/2 h.p. compressor would have performed just as well for the purposes of spraying paper pulp.
The sprayer's effect is not unlike that of an airbrush with a rather gross pattern. That is, the range of coverage in each pass is about 8 inches at its narrowest, and about 18-24 inches at the widest. The pulp is sprayed through a circular orifice which makes exact color placement difficult, but the gradual building up and overlapping of color is a distinct possibility. Very subtle color changes can be made in this way, as the pistol does not produce lines but diffuse bands of pulp. Different colored pulps can be fed into the 1 1/2 gallon hopper, and pulps can be mixed in process to produce blends.
For speed and evenness I found the pattern pistol a useful tool. Vats of pulp are not really required; I work with buckets of pulp and plain water, mixing the two to achieve the density desired, as well as that required by the pistol, since fibers too thick or too long will not pass through. The sprayer was even more useful for application to the burning tower, which was slightly rounded and upright, although some of the spraying was accomplished in a horizontal position over the screens.
One further use of the pattern pistol and sprayed imagery is to enhance or connect disparate imagery. On the tall tower, sections of premade paper were distributed to indicate disintegration, flames and burned out sections. After laying the fragments in place, they were sprayed with pulp or water to adhere them to the surface, and with various hues of pulp to create the effect of shading.
The particular thick/thin texture of sprayed sheets is appropriate for a certain emotional impact. In Tower Vision, a variety of different papermaking methods were employed to show a range of emotional experiences with the fragility and partial transparency of the sprayed panels contributing to that intent. This same apparent fragility was also very real, and created problems when some of the panels tore and needed to be patched. Thicker sheets can be created by spraying several layers of pulp with the pattern pistol, and the desire for transparency should be weighed against the need for strength. Decisions made regarding the largest sheets (9 1/2 feet) I found to be unsatisfactory on completion. Smaller solid sheets formed by traditional methods of sheetforming (dipping or pouring) can be joined fairly inobtrusively to create larger sheets. A problem with the large sprayed sheets was the unique pattern of solid and open texture which was created; when two sheets were joined, the join was very obvious, as the overlapping sections decreased the transparency in those areas considerably. In future when forming sprayed sheets, I would make the sheet in one continuous panel up to the size limit of my screen or mold, or else make the overlap a consistent and deliberate part of the design and image. CONSTRUCTION
The question of armature was one I dealt with early in the design of Tower Vision, and I decided to incorporate one not only as support, but also as part of the image. Overlapping layers of paper had been part of my previous explorations on a 2D surface; with this work, I could overlap panels in space and thus combine a structural need with an artistic intent. I chose paper and bamboo since it has been a historical solution and is, in Hawaii, a very practical one. I spent many hours cutting bamboo at the top of a mountain with some loyal friends; that experience added a brightness to my vision, a memory I recalled when working late into the night in the studio or outdoors in the rain.
The burning tower was to stand approximately 4-5 feet across at the bottom. Since this was too large to pass through doorways, I split the structure into four panels which were hinged together with ties upon final assembly and at various points in the construction.
The panels for both the wall and spiral tower units were joined to the bamboo with a mixture of methyl cellulose, acrylic gel, and water, in equal proportions. Methyl cellulose is commonly used as a binder in sculpture pulp and as a sizing. Gel medium serves as an adhesive, but used alone has the characteristic of adding gloss; the combination with methyl cellulose negates the reflective character of the gel. An uneven mixture of methyl cellulose and gel can cause spots which look wet even when dry; gel medium tends to clump or not completely disperse when mixed. Soft gel blends more sucessfully than regular or film gel.
This mixture was brushed on the bamboo framework and the paper panel laid over it, joined at one end. After drying, the panel was rotated and the other side fixed in place. Since the bamboo, being a natural material, was irregularly shaped, the paper was not taut and smooth as in the model. A certain amount of give had to be allowed to prevent pulling and tearing as the panels were moved about and joined to each other with ties. CONCLUSION
