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J: I’m wondering who you would consider a mentor, outside of your instructors, someone you wanted to emulate as a young student. B: I think just starting I really liked the steel work of David Smith; I think I liked the idea of him sitting outside (of his studio) there smoking. There was this whole kind of history of coming out of the steel docks in New York. A whole bunch of guys came out at that same time - Richard Serra, Mark di Suvero. I liked that tough New York theme.


There wasn’t really a lot in the way of finding any contemporaries I could enjoy so I looked backwards – and I just got stuck on the work of Brancusi. I couldn’t get away from him and I still can’t.


Henry Moore was such a big figure to me then, just like Carl Andre was later on. I shied away from them though, they were just too overwhelming and too popular, but certainly they were great - I think all object makers that came out of the British school system. I think of Amish Kapoor who came out of there. Barbara Hepworth, I still go back to that look. I think that work doesn’t end. It keeps repeating itself. I see Kapoor just repeats what Hepworth had been doing.


J: How important are ‘titles’ to the work? How does it inform the public? B: I like to put my pieces together the way you put poetry together It’s different each time. I’m of the attitude that an artist can only do so


Siren (1992) Enamel / aluminum / plaster / graphite h.200 x w. 350 x d. 100 cm


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