Sterling Ruby
Monument Stalagmite/P.T.A.C., 2012
PVC pipe, foam, urethane, wood, spray paint and formica unique
494.7 x 99.1 x 160 cm
This almost 5-metre-high Monument is part of a series of similarly shaped sculptures, all made from a base structure of PVC pipes. These are attached to the artist’s studio ceiling and for multiple months layer after layer of urethane resin is poured over them to form this glossy shape. The slow process and resulting shape evoke the geological formation of stalactites, dripping down to a point from the roof of a cave. Once complete Ruby flips the whole structure over, turning the stalactite into the much more phallic stalagmite, before placing it on a pedestal, propped up with aid of a wooden buttress.
It is a characteristic Ruby takes head on, since he is interested in interrogating or deconstructing notions of American identity politics and macho culture. The wooden structure that supports his monument have each been inscribed with an acronym. This one reads P.T.A.C, meaning 'party to a crime.' It is a term used by the American police and justice system to indicate an accomplice. This ‘monument’ thereby becomes rather desolate, it stands like a tower to a dissonant American Dream — one that champions individual freedom within a system of mass incarceration.