Q&A With Sculptor Bruce Gray
Bruce Gray has been a full time sculptor since 1989 when he, on a creative whim, moved to Los Angeles, CA and picked up his first blow torch. Beginning with the “figure it out as you go method,” Bruce has made a name for himself with his humorously giant and pink high-heeled-shoes sculptures, oversized swiss cheese blocks, and plinko-style sound racks. Bruce’s artwork can be spotted in hundreds of TV programs, films, music videos and thousands of private and corporate art collections. Bruce Gray is a person who truly enjoys the life (and hard work) of a creator.
Bruce was kind enough to answer some questions I had. Please read…
Tyler: When and where were you born?
Bruce Gray: Orange, New Jersey, November 14, 1956
T: Did you grow up in an artistic family? What provoked your creative disposition?
BG: Not really. I know my father did at least 2 paintings though. I did not know him very well. I think taking woodshop class really sparked my interest quite a bit starting in junior high school. The photograph of the hand made electric guitar is something I made in high school shop without any plans or musical instrument making skills. Just using the figure it out as you go method. When I realized that there is nothing you can’t make if you have the right tools and skills, I definitely got hooked on making things.
T: Legos?
BG: I loved all that kind of thing, Lego, blocks, erector set, Lincoln logs, clay, etc. I had my own box of woodworking hand tools when I was in first grade.
T: Can you remember a specific moment or event which inspired you to pursue your career as a sculptor? (tell us how you progressed from a young tinkerer to a graphics designer to a sculptor)
BG: I have been interested in creative expression in one form or another since I was a small child. When I was young I loved to draw, paint, and build things. I never took any courses in art in high school, but did enjoy all the wood shop and drafting classes that I took, and I also loved photography. I built a completely handmade electric guitar as a senior wood shop project. I got into silk-screening at about the age of 12, and made lots of fun T shirts for many years. After high school I joined the Coast Guard, and learned scrimshaw, and got even more interested in photography. Near the end of my 4 year enlistment, I decided to try to get in to an art school back home in Massachusetts. I applied to the University of Massachusetts, but was told I would need to submit an art portfolio. I didn’t have one, so I drew a few pencil drawings and sent them in. They were not very good, and were done in a few hours. My portfolio was rejected. A few months later, I got a notice that if I met with the Dean of the design school and did some drawings for him, that I might be considered for admission. I met him and did a couple of drawings. I was not feeling very confident in my abilities, and nearly walked out. However the Dean said that I had promise, and I was let in on a probationary basis, meaning that I had to keep a B average to stay. I had just spent 4 very long but beneficial years in the military to get my college paid for, and my years of being a slacker in school were over. I worked very hard in college and loved every minute of it. I often did extra examples for school projects. I majored in Design and got a BFA in Design after 4 years. I also studied drawing, photography, art history, sculpture, typography, illustration, jewelry making, etc. When I graduated in 1983, I moved to Boston and got jobs in photography and advertising. Then after about 5 years, I felt like I was not living up to my creative potential, and wanted to create my own ideas somehow. This point was amplified by the sudden death of my mother. I realized that life is short, and there are no guarantees for tomorrow. One day at work, it dawned on me that I should search further for my life’s calling, and I quit on the spot. (I found that this is how you get offered a raise) Later I decided to drive to North Carolina to do some windsurfing and think about what to do next. I didn’t find my answer after a few days, and ended up driving all the way to Mexico City before I reached any conclusion. I then drove back to Massachusetts, and packed up my car and moved to Los Angeles in January 1989 to become some sort of artist. I struggled hard at first, working only in wood. Most of my ideas lent themselves to steel rather than wood however, so I bought a welder and taught myself how to use it. That is how I got started as a sculptor.
T: How many hours a week do you work in your studio?
BG: I work almost every day around 16 hours a day, including most weekends and holidays. I have not taken off more than a 3 day weekend in 15 years or more. So to answer your question, I would say around 100 hours or so a week………..yawn.
T: You mention your sculptures as being environmentally friendly (saving scrap metal from landfills). Tell us more!
BG: I am sure that pound for pound, I have pulled more weight out of dumpsters than I have put in. It really is a rewarding feeling to take some junk that was headed for a landfill and turn it into something that people find interesting enough that they want to display in their living room or corporate offices. Its like turning steel into gold. I have been working with found objects for many years, and when I moved into the Brewery artist colony in downtown Los Angeles about 17 years ago I ended up right next to a train yard. I started making most of my work out of old discarded railroad spikes and other scrap that I found as a rode my bike along the tracks for many miles. I had a large sculpture of a man in my yard make from railroad spikes called “Spike Lee” which was spotted by someone who worked in the train yard. They ended up inviting me over to rummage through some dumpsters full of the most awesome scrap parts like train connector links and giant gears which can be seen on my Motorcycle sculpture and a few others. That was very cool of them.
I have been an avid environmentalist for most of my life and have organized several benefit art auctions for the Rainforest Action Network. I try to help out many different worthy environmental groups because they are the ones who are really making a difference in the many environmental catastrophes that we are now watching come to fruition. Its the most important issue of our time. Rock On Al Gore! I also do personally everything I can. Recycling bottles and cans etc, using no air conditioning, CFL bulbs, planting lots of plants and trees - and giving away lots of cuttings to friends and neighbors, plus I only drive about 2500 miles a year. I wish I could do much more to make a difference.
T: Bruce, tell us about your musical sculptures.
BG: I have experimented in five different areas so far:
1. Making actual musical instruments. Including my electric guitar and aluminum drums and my unfinished multi-instrument “Walakazoo” sculpture. I also plan on making a full drum set in 100% metal. Probably in aluminum or stainless steel. It will be super cool, and I doubt I will want to sell it.
2. Musical sculptures. This would include all five of my rolling ball machines and my Pegasus Table which is a 2 shelf functional table with a set of ten chimes and has a pair of hidden mallets available for use. Pegasus was made for a show titled Sound Furniture at the Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica, CA. This show featured a group of professional musicians playing songs with the use of functional musical furniture supplied by myself and a dozen or so other artists. You can expect to see lots more from me in this category in the near future!
3. Sculptures of musical instruments: Including my distorted actual electric guitar “Jimi’s Nightmare,” which was made for the Zimmer Museum, and the “Giant Guitar” which is an oversized electric guitar sculpture fabricated in steel. I loved making these, and plan to make many more variations of each. I also have a saxophone that I am planning to distort or “Dr. Seuss” out.
4. Musical related functional art furniture: My Guitar Pick Table and Musical Note Table fit into this one.
5. Original instrument design. The in progress Walakazoo will feature a few original concept instruments that I am working on. Who knows what else I will come up with in this category.
T: In your oppinion, what defines a musical sculpture from the average sculpture?
BG: I think that any sculpture that is designed to produce at least one musical tone can be considered a musical sculpture. Many of my sculptures could also have multiple classifications like a rolling ball musical kinetic sculpture, for example. I would include all my rolling ball machines as musical sculptures, even if they have just a few chimes on them. The rolling ball machines have lots of other great sounds too. Even just the sound of the steel ball running along the track is kind of mesmerizing. I love to include lots of musical stairways that resemble xylophones in most of them now.
T: Explain the relationship between the “form” of a sculpture and the “acoustics” of a sculpture in terms of both your creation process and the experience of the end-user.
BG: I find that I discover a lot of interesting sounds by accident while working with various metal parts for my sculptures. Sometimes just by bumping or dropping something on the floor I hear a tone I like or a new cool sound that surprises me. I have gotten to the point that during the creation process of almost anything I make, I sample tones from all the parts and partially fabricated 3D shapes. You never know what can end up sounding cool. I have made sets of metal drums before where the timbre is altered by just the amount of spot welds holding the playing surface to the sides. In my sculptures that feature a lot of chimes or xylophone stairs, I have not used specific notes but instead the tones represent exact linear measurements, and the order and spacing of these chimes is achieved after many varying test runs with the rolling balls. A lot of my finished three dimensional sculptures end up having interesting and unplanned tones if you tap on the right spots. In the commercially made instrument world, some situations form wins out over functionality or quality of sound such as in some of the outrageous awkward barely playable electric guitars that you see made sometimes.
T: What advice would you like to share with aspiring sculptors, artists, and oddstrument builders?
This is a very fun, fascinating and rewarding area to be working in. The possibilities are endless! Today’s technology offers a lot of great new things for people wanting to experiment with music and instrument making. Hey, I just turned my iphone into a musical instrument by adding a phone app for under ten bucks. Of course, that being said, most of the coolest and successful instruments you can make will be based on some very old concepts and designs. I like to mess around with playing a lot of instruments for fun, and my own instrument collection includes an electric guitar, electric base, electric keyboard, 2 authentic didgeridoos, several harmonicas, 12 or so various drums, jaw harp, saxophone, rain stick, slide flute, shaker eggs, pan flute, etc. And lets face it, I am in dire need of a good Theremin. Maybe I will make one that is also a cool looking sculpture. I have also made an album of music using Garage Band. You can hear one of my songs if you dare, at: http://www.brucegray.com/htmlfolder/TheSideEffects.html
I am currently working on a multi-instrument musical sculpture right now that so far includes a Tibetan singing bowl, various chimes, triangles, bells, and some original design instruments too. I should also mention that most of my musical sculptures can be seen and heard on video on my website at http://www.brucegray.com and also on Youtube. Much more to come!
Stay “tuned.”
Peace, Love, and Music!
Bruce Gray
PS. Probably my coolest musical experience was that I was part of a drum circle on the beach at night with legendary Grateful Dead drummer Micky Hart at the renowned TED (Technology Entertainment Design) convention in 2005. Guess that will have to hold me till I get to jam with the Stones.
T: Bruce, thank you for your wonderful stories and for that letter which made my day. We all look forward to hearing (and seeing) your next oddstrument!