Cactus Man No. 2 1939 - 1940

Julio Gonzalez made this sculpture, Cactus Man No. 2, and it looks like it's made of iron. I'm imagining Gonzalez in his studio, working with the metal, figuring out how to make it stand, how to give it weight and presence. It’s an evocative sculpture because it's figurative without being descriptive. The head is kind of bird-like, with these comb-like extensions, while the body is more organic, like a twisted torso, with small metal spikes. I wonder what it felt like for Gonzalez to be welding this together, the heat and force needed to bend the metal to his will. It reminds me a little of Picasso’s metal sculptures or even some Giacometti’s figures. There is a conversation between artists in a continual exchange of ideas, inspiring one another’s creativity. Sculptures like this one push the boundaries of representation and explore what it means to create form and meaning in new and unexpected ways.