Most of pieces are made of wood, cutted by water jet Nc in CRITT JET D'EAU at Bar-Le-Duc (Meuse). They are painted with fluorescent colors. The scenery evoke 3 of the 4 elements, materialized in dishes above 3 columns: water, fire, earth.
The fourth element is air, symbolized by a nude african ballerina whose body is also painted in fluo colors. She produced in the set a choregraphy about traditional women life in Africa.
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a robosculpture made in altuglas
water jet cut
by CRITT TECHNIQUES JET FLUIDE ET USINAGE
at Bar-le-Duc (55-Meuse)
Astarte is a Phenician name for Ishtar, ambivalent mesopotamian godess: Star of Sunrise, she is bellicose; Star of Sunset, she is a voluptuous lover.
Astarte temples could be found in Tyr, Cartharge and Cyprus. Herodotus said that every woman, in Babylon, a time at least in her life, must to sit down somewhere in the temple's godess, and must to wait a stranger who gives her some money, saying: "Give yourself in the name of the godess!". She have to follow him and to make love with him (sacral prostitution).
These myth and rituals are good exemples of timeless symbolic crossbreeding. Everybody can understand the story of Astarte. Perhaps, godess cult have also taken place in Black Africa; however that may be, this character is an interesting subject for deep thought on African woman status.
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This sculpture was designed by computer, with mathematical curves and numerized silhouette of real black girls.
CAD-CAM files are created to command a water jet cuting machine,
in order to cut thick Altuglas. Then, pieces are assembled to make the sculpture.
The water jet cut is very efficient for thick materials.
The principle is to use a very thin and very high pressure water jet, which position is calculated by a computer. The water is pure or mixed with abrasive particles. this tool have a great strength!
Since 1985, in Bar-le-Duc, a public research center is devoted to innovation in this high tech technology.
Without the know-how of CRITT TECHNIQUE JET FLUIDE ET USINAGE,
a sculpture like "Astarte" is unworkable.
First, this Center create CAD-CAM softwares for water jet cuting machines.
Second, it realize a data bank about materials properties under high pressure water jet.
Many thanks to:
Thanks too for Atohaas, which regularly provide me Altuglas.