Keys to the Temple

This is Deborah Jang. Thank you for visiting my show, SUM OF THE PARTS. One of the most common questions people ask is where do I get all the materials to make the sculptures. One important way I acquire parts is from friends and fellow artists who kindly offer cool stuff they no longer need. The primary component in KEYS TO THE TEMPLE is a piano keyboard that artist Judy Gardner passed along. I found an old bed headboard in someone's junk pile, and harvested a few of those parts. And lying around my studio were wood forms from previous projects –– all of which contributed to the direction of this piece. The Sanskrit letters along the bottom were left over from some prayer wheel sculptures I have worked on through the years. These Sanskrit characters represent an important mantra recited in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, "Om Mani Padme Hum," which is commonly translated "Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus." One of the things that I appreciate most about this medium of assemblage sculpture is how various stray parts can serendipitously show up at the right time, which was the case with KEYS TO THE TEMPLE.