Michael Cooper is an incomparable artist who relentlessly challenges and expands any preconceived boundaries between art, craft, and design with his feet firmly planted in all worlds. Cooper’s outrageous contraptions command and merit our high regard, inciting curiosity and pure wonder in those who experience them. Suspended between technological invention and creative genius, his work is accessible to all, yet like none seen before. Recognized for its flawless precision and craftsmanship, his sculpture continues to be admired by those who appreciate his brilliance of design and the junction between art and science. Cooper is completely driven in his practice and expends huge amounts of time conjuring ideas and bringing them to fruition.

Over the years, Cooper’s kinetic sculptures have employed increasingly sophisticated and complex mechanical movements, from relatively straightforward motor-cable-pulley mechanisms of to the microprocessor-controlled pneumatic systems.

The construction of these kinetic pieces relies heavily on a skillful use of steel, wood and aluminum. Some shapes, such as the stamped steel spheres and hemispheres that show up in several of his sculptures, Cooper gets ready-made through his arsenal of mail-order parts catalogs. Others are slightly modified stock parts that he TIG-welds to form his desired shapes; tungsten inert gas welding, when done well, is a very clean way of joining aluminum or steel.

• soft cover ISBN – 987-0-9760119-3-4
• hard cover ISBN – 978-0-9760119-2-7
• published by the Museum of Craft and Design
• text by Harold B. Nelson and Glenn Adamson
• format: soft cover and hard cover
• dimensions: 9.25″ x 12″
• 76 page plus cover / 44 color plates
• publication year: 2011
• soft cover: LIMITED COPIES $24.95
• soft cover order number: FAP-121-S

Order Michael Cooper - A Sculptural Odyssey, 1968–2011

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