Oxnard Gambolor 1980
Symbol 1973-1981
While exploring architectonic structures in the 1970s, David Jacobs developed a related vocabulary of deceptively simple symbolic forms. Derived from the world of typography, these mostly aluminum sculptures present X-marks, check marks, stacked parallel lines, and partial grids that resemble tic-tac-toe boards. Because such characters are typically encountered on a flat page or screen, these sculptures possess a graphic clarity when viewed from certain angles. But the mobile spectator is greeted by unexpected projections into space, interlaced elements, and axiometric illusions that confound the legibility of these familiar forms and test our perceptual faculties.
These sculptures gain additional complexity from Jacobs’ thoughtful attention to surface. Having discovered aluminum tread plate when conceiving Man Monument in 1963 Jacobs continued to exploit its readymade surface in later works, frequently rhyming the raised diamond pattern with the larger geometries of his compositions. Elsewhere and in counterpoint, Jacobs would grind the aluminum with spirited energy, creating a range of painterly gestures that emerge and dissolve as the spectator moves about or lighting conditions fluctuate.
XT – 1976
Miss Pierce – 1977
Check – 1978
Small War – 1978
Star Wars for Jeanette – 1978
On Wall – 1979
On the Square – 1979
Off the Wall – 1979
Crossing the Channel – 1979
Star Wars V – 1980
Heaven Heaven – 1980
Crosswalk – 1980
Picnic – 1980
Oxnard Gambolor – 1980
Gemini Gesture – 1981
Lady M – 1982
Seventh Heaven – 1983
Coot – 1983
Four Square – 1983
Best Scheme – 1984
Breaker – 1984
