Artwork
Medium:
Welded stainless steel
Date:
circa 1980
Dimensions:
Artworks -
Height: 37 in
Width: 42.5 in
Depth: 12.25 in
Historical Context:
Kafka, whose art training took a decidedly unconventional route, worked in brass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and titanium, as well as precious metals such as platinum, gold, and silver. Like many skilled Depression-era workers he found employment in the late 1930s as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he learned to weld. During a career spent as a welder at U.S. Steel, Ford Aircraft, and Argonne National Laboratories, Kafka began to create artwork in his spare time. New techniques learned on the job, such as heliarc welding – which allows for the bonding together of two extremely hard metals – translated into a wider range of methods for making art.