Discover 'Lofty Perch': A Stunning Marble Sculpture

COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY

Lofty Perch / $4,750 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

11 x 9.5 x 19″ / 54 lbs / SN251101

Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS

121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846

A marble sculpture titled 'Lofty Perch' by Martin Cooney, showcasing elegant curves and a tall, narrow silhouette, displayed against a dark backdrop.

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As the name suggests, ‘Lofty Perch’ brings a welcome upright element to The Liberty Collection’s repertoire of sculptural styles. Following in the footsteps of ‘Prairie Twist’, eleven carvings earlier, the 16^th addition to the series was split from The Liberty Slab with the implicit purpose of creating a tall, narrow sculpture that would take full advantage of the marble’s amazing ability to react to, and play with, the direct rays of the sun. In fact, she positively flaunts this ability with her sweeping curves revealing a swash of enchanting swirls and hues that steal the attention and capture the eye.

Please click on a picture to enlarge.

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And although I held ideas as to the overall design of this piece at the outset of the carving process, the particular details regarding the avian symbolism, that of a bird ‘perched’ atop an urban roofline setting, only gelled once the stone revealed itself via the colorful inclusions that I used to shape the outline of a bird. From this point on, midway through the process, the die was cast, and my task became one of realizing this delicate ‘vision’ to the best of my ability. Which, though challenging at times, was, as it proved to be, a joy to carve.

But even I, when I look back at photos of the original rough block, quite wonder where I came up with the idea. But that is the beauty and magic of ‘Direct Method Carving’. It’s a process of exploration intertwined with experience and imagination that delivers consistently satisfying results. For, once the process is put underway, there’s no going back. ‘Once it’s gone, it’s gone’, as we stone sculptors say.

A partially carved marble sculpture showing distinct grooves, set on a workbench in a stone workshop.

~ ‘Lofty Perch’ Carving Process ~

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Weighing in at a hefty 130 lbs., as I fork lifted this uncompromising rough block onto my banker, little did I know how much material I was about to remove. As it turned out, 76 lbs. would remain on the workshop floor as I carried ‘Lofty’ out into the Stoneworks and set her on the finishing banker to have her blemishes seen to and generally make her look her best.

Curvilinear marble sculpture 'Lofty Perch' by Martin Cooney, showcasing elegant sweeping curves and textures, illuminated to highlight its intricate design.

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Now, a 41.5%. remaining to a 58.5% taken away ratio is nothing unusual when it comes to my particular brand of Curvilinear Reductionist Marble Sculpture, but for some reason an upright format seems to make it all the more dramatic and a little trickier to carve than a carving with a larger footprint than that of Lofty’s. That small base is the only area that isn’t required to be carefully carved and then finished, which makes for a slightly longer carving process, compared to carving the long upright sides of tall carvings such as this. But I hope you’ll agree that all these considerations are worth it when you see her radiating her delicate moods in almost every light.

A marble sculpture titled 'Lofty Perch' by Martin Cooney, showcasing sweeping curves and elegant forms, displayed against a black backdrop.

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Her base too plays with all available light, but in an entirely different manner – reflecting the twists and turns of the rooflines, windows … or whatever it is you see in those striking rounded edges.

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And finally, ‘Lofty Perch’ is most definitely a Curvilinear sculpture that must be seen ‘in the round’ to fully appreciate the drama of her curves. She’s easy to simply twist into a whole new perspective – simply place both hand on her base and slide from right to left or left to right. Spotlights perform pretty much the same function as direct sun; except with natural light, you get the intense moodiness of the bird figure as she absorbs and reflects the rays to quite stunning effect as the sun moves across the sky and illuminates her from different angles. Shadowing – say from the leaves of a tree, will have her shimmying and dancing to dramatic effect. And the combination of sunshine and shadow is quite something else and provides an entertaining and ever changing light show.

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Please click on a picture to enlarge.