Untitled (Lake Series) 1973

Editor: Here we have Bill Bollinger’s “Untitled (Lake Series)” from 1973, an intriguing assemblage made with metal. It's raw, almost primal, like a fragment unearthed from a forgotten shore. The jagged edges and voids create this sense of precarious balance, a still life holding tension, if that makes sense. What exactly do you see in it? Curator: Well, you've already keyed into its primal aspect, which I think is spot on. Bollinger was wrestling with some big themes in his work – nature versus industry, the ephemeral versus the enduring. He uses these found materials, often industrial remnants, to evoke organic forms. Think about it – this chunk of metal resembles, well, a lake shoreline. Editor: Exactly! But how does metal represent something so fluid and natural? Curator: Ah, that's the magic, isn't it? He's making us see the industrial within the organic and the potential for beauty in the discarded. There’s a sense of vulnerability, almost a ruinous beauty, that plays into the post-industrial anxieties of the 70s, right? And the "lake" element... water always reflects change, and Bollinger was definitely tuned into that current. What does this "sense of ruin" inspire in you? Editor: Melancholy. It also makes me appreciate how artists can completely change our perspectives using unexpected material. The contrast brings attention to new things. Curator: Precisely! That ability to reframe and question is what makes Bollinger's work so resonant even now. What’s fascinating to me is the idea of him wandering around, *choosing* that specific chunk. Editor: That is so very cool to think about. Thanks! This has given me so much to consider about material and context. Curator: Absolutely! It's all about looking closer, isn't it? Not just at the art, but at the world around it and inside ourselves.