Pixelated: Sculpture by Mike
Whiting features 13 sculptures
in 11 different gardens.
Created within the pixelated aesthetic of vintage video games, the exhibit explores the relationship between the natural world and the artificial world of digital media. Click below to see behind-the-scenes and learn how the artist creates his sculptures.
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Ghost and Castle
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Cathead
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Bird
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Buck
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Pinkie and Mr. Green
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Wave
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Garden Gnome
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Cactus
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Pigeon
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Birdie
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Sailboat
Ghost and Castle
Located at Crossroads
2016, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Before Whiting paints a sculpture with bold colors, he cleans it and uses a process called acid etching to prepare the surface. The steel surfaces are sprayed with acid that eats away at some of the metal, giving it a slightly rougher texture for the paint to grab. Once pieces are cleaned and etched as seen in this image of Ghost and Castle, they are ready to paint and distress.
After applying a coat of primer, Whiting sprays the pieces with colored paint, then rubs the paint with cinderblocks and sandpaper to make it appear aged. For sculptures with more than one color of paint, he applies paint one color at a time, masking off areas he plans on painting a different color. This image shows Ghost coated in primer at the beginning of the masking process.
Cathead
Located at the UMB Bank Amphitheater
2012, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Steel has natural surface rust, as seen in this image of Cathead during fabrication. Sheet steel also comes with markings that indicate its country of origin, its thickness, and other characteristics—the markings on Cathead's steel indicate that it originated in Australia.
The artist likes his pieces to have a weathered finish to make them look aged by nature, so once the paint is dry he distresses it by rubbing it with sandpaper, cinder blocks and other abrasive materials. In this image taken before Cathead was distressed, its paint is even and unmarked.
Bird
Located in Marnie's Plaza
2012, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Whiting's sculptures are made from individual flat pieces of steel that are assembled by welding, a process where pieces of metal are fused by heating. To begin the assembly process, Whiting lays out the large front and back pieces separately from the smaller side pieces so he can assess how well the pieces fit together and make adjustments if needed. Here, the front and back pieces of Bird lie flat in the artist's studio.
Once a piece is welded, Whiting grinds the welds to make them flat, smooth and even. Instead of grinding the sculptures' surfaces from the side, he grinds them from the top, using gravity to his advantage. Often this means the sculpture is on its side or upside down while Whiting sits on top. Once he is finished grinding all the surfaces on one side, he uses a forklift or small crane to rotate it so that another side is on top. Once fabrication is finished, he paints the sculpture and distresses it to give it an aged appearance.
Buck
Located in Oak Grove
2007, paint and steel. Loaned by Brigham Young University Museum of Art.
The steel pieces of Whiting's sculptures fit together like a puzzle. To make sure they all fit together perfectly, the artist starts by assembling the side pieces into a cookie cutter-like form using tack welds. Once the sides are joined together, he sandwiches the hollow form between the front and back pieces. Here, the sides of a deer's head and antlers, similar to Buck's, are in the process of fabrication.
A pair of deer lie on Whiting's studio floor in preparation for grinding. The tools on top of them are hand-held electric grinders (angle grinders) that smooth the edges with spinning abrasive discs. These deer were created nearly 10 years after Buck, and their antlers have a slightly different design.
Pinkie and Mr. Green
Located in Le Potager
2007, paint and steel. Loaned by the City and County of Denver.
Like the other sculptures in Pixelated, Pinkie and Mr. Green have paint that is intentionally distressed and scratched. Watch Mike Whiting demonstrate the surface treatment process for his works.
Wave
Located in the Japanese Garden
2018, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Mike Whiting begins each sculpture by drawing it in a computer program. See drawings of Wave and other sculptures in Pixelated and hear the artist explain his design process.
Wave is one of four new works created for Pixelated.
Garden Gnome
Located in the Gates Montane Garden
2018, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
See Garden Gnome during fabrication and learn how Mike Whiting welds each sculpture together.
Garden Gnome is one of four new works created for Pixelated.
Cactus
Located in the Rock Alpine Garden
2018, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Watch Mike Whiting explain how he assembled Cactus and learn about the challenges of working with sheet steel.
Cactus is one of four new works created for Pixelated.
Pigeon
Located in the Lilac Garden
2008, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
See Pigeon before it was repainted for Pixelated, and hear Mike Whiting explain the painting and distressing process for his sculptures.
Birdie
Located in the Grant Family Cottonwood Border
2008, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
Artist Mike Whiting stands next to Birdie after its fabrication is complete and before its steel surface is covered with paint and distressed.
Artworks must be carefully wrapped in blankets and sheet plastic when they're moved to prevent damage. The weight of Whiting's sculptures requires forklifts and cranes to move them. Here, Birdie is lifted by a crane in 2009 during installation at its original site in Palm Desert, California.
Sailboat
Located in the Mordecai Children's Garden
2018, paint and steel. Loaned by Mike Whiting.
The sheet steel that Whiting uses to create his works has a natural curve, making it necessary to completely flatten the metal to remove its curve before he can begin fabricating. Using clamps like those shown here, the artist can spend several days or more flattening the steel before he's able to use it in a sculpture.
Once flattened, the steel is shaped into the different front, back and side pieces for each sculpture. The flatness of the metal is critical to the sculptures' geometric shapes. The very flat surfaces and precise, straight lines are testament to the labor that goes into the flattening of the steel.
Sailboat is one of four new works created for Pixelated.
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