Martin Puryear
American,  1941
Lever I
1988­89
Red cedar
429.3 x 340.4 x 45.7 cm
A. James Speyer Memorial, UNR Industries in honor of James W. Alsdorf, Barbara Neff Smith and Solomon Byron Smith funds, 1989.385
© Martin Puryear

Puryear, an African-American artist, carefully crafts his sculptures by hand. He often chooses wood as his material, as he did for Lever I, and his forms, although abstract, often refer to something in nature. They can also look like man-made objects, such as tools. Why do you think this one is called Lever?

To make this sculpture, Puryear bent thin strips of wood and spread glue on one side. He held the strips together with staples until the glue dried, then removed the staples but left the holes in the wood to show the process. He planed the surface to a very smooth finish.