The Imogene Icon

1986
Assemblage with electrical lightning from Tesla coil
88 x 44 x 24 inches
High voltage lightning sparks emit from the statue
Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
(Formerly collection of Kelly Nonmacher)

The Imogene icon is a wall mounted, modern sculptural icon consisting of a glass case with a gilded concrete statue of a woman inside. At the push of a button, long, crackling sparks leap rapidly between the statue and the cases inner edges. Additionally, an electric meter registers at the top of the piece. The lightning like emissions are produced by a Tesla coil apparatus hidden within the piece. Nicola Tesla invented the device in the late 1800s as a way to transmit electricity through the air without wires. An icon is created as a talisman believed to possess or represent the spiritual power of a sacred person or thing. The Imogene icon was conceived as a personification with truly tangible and undeniable power. The physical manifestation of electricity is the predominate media in this piece. It produces light, sound, heat, tactile sensation and smell and if abused or harnessed it possesses the power of death and life. There are some fun stories of dangerous moments about this piece in my book, The Science of Surrealism – Assemblage Sculpture of Steve Brudniak (available on this site) that I encourage one to read.

BRUDNIAK

Steve Brudniak’s found-object sculptures invest throw-aways of the past with new meanings. Enamored with the Tesla coil that was invented in the 1890’s, his assemblage The Imogene Icon indirectly plays homage to its inventor Nikola Tesla. Composed of fluorescent tubes, camera lenses, electric car window buttons, and a telephone push button, the piece plays with the classical associations by its inclusion of a figure of a golden goddess. Its symmetrical, well-ordered format similarly underscores archaic connections. The Imogene Icon flashes lightning with the touch of a key enabling the viewer to become an active if not omnipotent participant. Brudniak’s use of cast off laboratory equipment imbues his sculptures with true pseudoscientific status.

BECKY DUVAL REESE – A Century of Sculpture In Texas, 1819 -1989

This sculpture is one of Brudniak’s most technically and visually
complex objects and certainly one of the most dramatic…He says the sculpture represents “glory and power.” The goddess-like statue represents someone who is incorruptible, if the artist is referring to Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogene, in Shakespeare’s play by the same name. Perhaps Brudniak is revering motherhood or honoring womanhood in this work… Imogene, (like some of Willem de Kooning’s paintings of women,) is frightening as she sends out sparks from her throne with Art Deco symbols and technological apparatus.

PAUL HARRIS – Personal Anxieties, Dysfunction & Spiritual Dilemmas

Steve Brudniak’s sculpture, The Imogene Icon, places the Goddess-like female within an adorned glass-enclosed box. The figure is lit by two flanking tubes and emits electricalcharges when a generator is operated. The proximity of the viewer to the electrical field alters the visual effect, providing some relationship between symbol and audience. A major feature of Brudniak’s work is the type of the materials he employs. He uses machine made parts to create classical compositions that negate the utilitarian value the parts were designed for, employing them simply as visual objects that fit into a symbolic themes.…In his sculpture, objects become representations of how ideas and physicalities are related in the mind, how they structure our perceptions and finally, of how the object comes to replace the idea in its casual crossing.

LOUIS DOBAY – The Houston Public News