Doppelgänger
Steel, 8' x 4' x 4'Carl Billingsley, Ayden, NC
Location: Bristol, Virginia Courthouse
Carl Billingsley was born in Oklahoma and spent his formative years in a variety of locations as his father, a sergeant in the field artillery, was transferred from post to post. Three years in Germany made an indelible impression on Billingsley and he has returned to Europe as an adult many times. Billingsley teaches sculpture at the School of Art & Design, East Carolina University, and has a very active exhibition schedule. Billingsley's work can be found in collections and sculpture parks from North Carolina to Wisconsin. He has permanent public sculptures in Norway, Israel, Estonia, Japan, China and Brazil.
"'Doppelgänger,' a German word meaning mirror image, both describes this sculpture and implies the change of perspective that is involved when an element is reversed in orientation. Turning the basic element of the sculpture 180 degrees creates a visually dynamic form with great physical stability. This contradiction is one aspect of sculpture which interests me and which I try to exploit whenever possible. I enjoy creating forms which appear to be unstable or which confound the viewers expectations. Strong diagonal lines and forms which rest on edges rather than planes create the sensation in the viewer that the sculpture is about to fall or can't really stand upright. This special dynamic — and the strong and simple shapes from which the sculpture is formed — extend the sculpture into space and make it visually dominant in its environment. My work is not about representing people or things, expressing emotion or making social commentary. I am interested in the physical manifestation of form and in the way these forms occupy and extend into space. I create objects that continue the eternal involvement of mankind with the power of understanding and altering the physical world."