Title "DRIFT I"
Dimensions 14" high by 82" wide by 63" deep
Material Mild steel
Executed September, 1978
Commissioned by Steve Struck, Bloomington, IL.
"This piece came out of a surge of work executed in 1978, call it a conceptual watershed, and lasted well into 1980. There were eight sculptures contained in the Drift Series, with #8 now belonging to MCAC. In retrospect, I find it interesting that Steve Struck commissioned #1 and #8 (the beginning and the end) of this series. The conceptual wherewithal of the large outdoor Cor-ten sculpture at the University of Illinois, titled ARGONAUT, comes straight out of this series. Folks at the U of I insisted on painting the piece red. I resisted, preferring instead the natural dark patina of Cor-ten. I was wrong. It looks great painted red, and they maintain the piece with scrupulous care.
So DRIFT I is significant in terms of the underlying concept development taking place in my work during the late 70's and early 80's and leading directly into the ten-part Elegy Series, 1980-1987."
-Ed McCullough