Artist's Statement

                     In my sculptures and prints I explore the inner workings of mechanized, mobile machines by utilizing worn out steel machine parts that are normally enclosed, hidden, and ignored by the vast majority of the public who never consider, much less care about how machines work. My work is influenced by my love of motorcycles, mechanisms and my experience as an internal combustion technician. My theme is of transportation machines; specifically motorcycle parts from the oldest American-made motorcycle in current production. I prefer mechanical subjects—sharp, angular geometric forms and shapes with high contrast features and textures.

                     I find the motorcycle, an old form of transportation, more personal and exhilarating than the automobile. The motorcycle has a rich and proud tradition over a hundred years old of two-wheeled adventures. The motorcycle parts I use to construct my statues are from new to 60 years old. The statues represent imaginary machines or devices that apparently perform some unknown task. Many pieces of the statues move under the exploring hands of the viewers who enjoy the texture, form and fit of the machine parts. The look and feel of unpainted, rough worn steel is a sharp contrast to the high tech, shiny plastic design look of enclosures for the inner workings of present machines.                                                                 

                   My digital print series evolved from directly scanning individual steel gears on the glass and using image processing programs to manipulate

colors and textures and then layering to achieve depth and abstraction.

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Gregory A Vettel Sr.