Roman de Salvo: Main Street Sculpture Project
May 1—October 2, 2005Liquid Ballistic by artist Roman de Salvo was the fourth sculpture in the Main Street Sculpture Project series, on view on the front lawn at The Aldrich from May 1 through October 10, 2005.
Blending a fascination for machines and craftsmanship with an interest in language and wordplay, Roman De Salvo's work is imbued with wit and playfulness. Liquid Ballistic was the first Main Street Sculpture project to invite visitor interaction. This sculpture of a life-size cannon resembles old artillery, but it playfully comments upon outdoor recreation, roadside Americana, and idyllic pastimes and pleasures. The cannon, made from mahogany, is actually a seesaw that discharges a gentle stream of water from its muzzle when two people teeter-totter. In giving the cannon this function, de Salvo blunts its perceived function as a weapon, and instead finds a friendlier application for this piece of history. Perfectly paired with Ridgefield's historic eighteenth-century Main Street, Liquid Ballistic surprised passersby as a humorous, absurd, and poignant sculpture.
About the Artist
Roman De Salvo lives and works in San Diego, CA. He received his BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, and his MFA from the University of California, San Diego. Liquid Ballistic was originally created for an exhibition in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. In 2003 he exhibited his work in American Idyll at the Public Art Fund in New York, and Baja to Vancouver: The West Coast in Contemporary Art at the Seattle Art Museum. In 2001 Salvo had a solo exhibition, Woods, at Quint Contemporary Art in La Jolla, CA.Top of page: Roman de Salvo, Liquid Ballistic, 2003, Mahogany diaphragm pump, water, hardware, 48 x 128 x 73 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Quint Contemporary Art, La Jolla, California
