Samuel Spiczka’s Like Clockwork (Sculpture)

Samuel Spiczka’s sculpture Like Clockwork is a creation that truly exemplifies the style of an artist and the crossover of man and machine. This sculpture features elements of wood, rubber, and Corten steel, an alloy that is weatherproof and appears rusted. These materials are some of the artist’s staples, and they were combined in order to create this 15-foot work. Spiczka is an artist that has been inspired by the dichotomy of the natural landscape of his home of rural Minnesota and the expanse of industrial technology. In his works, he frequently showcases geometric and mechanical figures in combination with bone structure and other natural elements in order to portray these contrasting worlds. The sculptures he creates are also intentionally ambiguous and require creativity on the part of the viewer. Like Clockwork is quite exemplary of all these aspects of Spiczka’s style. This piece was created for Skokie’s Northshore Sculpture Park, which stretches for 2 miles down McCormick Blvd. from Dempster to Touhy. The park was created in 1988 as a public space dedicated to the display of intriguing sculptures, and Like Clockwork is no exception. The piece was created with the intentions of the park in mind—to inspire public engagement with art and provoke thought and reflection.

            Like Clockwork conveys several themes through its form, materials, and construction. However, in a classic post-Modern style, the viewer is required to synthesize these themes without much assistance from the sculptor. In this piece, the first theme that is showcased is the integration of industrial mechanics into human labor. Throughout the past two centuries, human work has been transformed by the advent of technology at a very regular pace, as emphasized by the title. In some cases, man and technology have integrated seamlessly to become quite efficient. This is portrayed through the geometric figure in the middle of the sculpture that looks as if it fits into the socket of a bone, and it is emphasized the artist’s combination of steel and wood. However, technology has also overtaken man in certain fields. This is displayed on the bottom of the sculpture, where the geometric figure is much larger than the bone-like structure, and the two seem to barely connect. The second theme that is conveyed is how delicately humanity and technology are balanced in modern society. Technology could potentially overtake man, and man is responsible for striking the balance needed in order to prevent this. This is shown as the bone/machine structure hangs by only one hook from a pedestal, showing that the structure has the capacity to fall.

            I find this sculpture beautiful for many reasons—I have been driving past it for several years now, and it has always fascinated me. I frequently wonder whether or not disastrous weather could ever unhook the main piece of the artwork from its base. So far, it (thankfully) hasn’t come off, but I greatly value the symbolism of the sculpture in that way—its fall could mirror the collapse of modern society. In the same sense, as it is bared to the elements and has not come undone, I admire the tenacity and fortitude that is represented. I also greatly appreciate the artist’s ability to seamlessly blend the image of a bone structure and a complex, mechanical pattern. This construction shows his great skill and complex thought as he created the piece. The blend also very clearly conveys his themes of the cross of man and machine, but not in a overly apparent way. The sculpture strikes the perfect balance of not being too thematically obvious, but also being accessible to a common onlooker. Anyone jogging past the sculpture in the park can receive meaning from the sculpture, but they must put in the mental effort in order to do so. I think this aspect of the sculpture is its most beautiful. Overall, Like Clockwork is a seamless representation of the blend between man and machine in society.