Daniel Krentz, a recent Bowling Green State University (Ohio) graduate, fabricated a 10.5-ft. high x 3.5-ft. wide concrete and steel cylindrical sculpture that despite weighing nearly 1,500 lbs. demonstrates the illusion of weightlessness.
Titled Columnal, the sculpture features 14 discs made of Quikrete Crack Resistant Concrete and Quikrete Quik-Tubes suspended in a steel frame from chains. The disc forms were made from an aluminum flashing backed with clay for the perimeter and Quik-Tubes on the inside to create a hole, or void, in the middle of the disc. Concrete was poured between the flashing and smaller Quik-Tubes to form the discs, which weighed between 80 and 110 lbs. each.
The frame was created by cutting 72 1/8-in. long sections of pipe for the steel rings at the top and bottom of the frame. Krentz cinched the two ends to form a ring and tack welded all of the cuts. From there he welded every cut and ground them all back to flush; he did this process twice.
Originally Krentz used aircraft cable to suspend the discs, before opting for chain and hardware rated well over the weight of the concrete to provide the necessary strength and safety required for a public sculpture. The use of chain hoists as well as its modular shape made it manageable to assemble Columnal one piece at a time.
According to Krentz, building such a large-scale sculpture, which took two months, was both challenging and rewarding. Columnal has been on display at various locations in Bowling Green, Ohio, and is currently located at the city’s public plaza.
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| Recent Bowling Green State University student Daniel Krantz (above), who majored in 3-Dimensional Studies, created the Columnal sculpture by utilizing Quikrete Crack Resistant Concrete and Quikrete Quik-Tubes. |