The Science of Surrealism - Assemblage Sculpture of Steve Brudniak

Brudniak's technical assemblages are incredibly unique concepts, superbly crafted, poetic and surreal. However, they are also pioneering works of art science: Historically, they include the first assemblages to travel into outer space, the only art to integrate the oldest life discovered on earth, the first sculptures to incorporate electrical lightning, unique applications of human blood and more.

Director Guillermo Del Toro gives us this description in the books foreword: Each of Steve Brudniak's artifacts is a relic from a time that never was, and each of them holds a secret. Through superb craftsmanship and a keen eye for design, Brudniak integrates science and technology into his work: Tesla coils, ferrofluid magnetics, electrically-induced mental imagery and other groundbreaking uses of retro tech.

His sculptures shock, produce lightning, induce hypnosis, reflect impossible images and light and produce sound through interaction, liquids miraculously come alive… And still others merely amaze with their unprecedented content and exquisite form.

Brudniak fabricates, manipulates or re-shapes found materials into absolutely coherent, powerful works of art. He can cannibalize a junkyard, a discarded science lab or even his own bodily fluids in order to find the perfect balance between drama and aesthetics. Ask him to tell you the stories behind each piece and he will regale you with tales that involve illegal medical experiments, miracle cures through art and paranormal experiences.

But, above all, the pieces themselves are the story. Like museum artifacts, they speak of a future/past that is half Orwellian nightmare, half Steampunk adventure. They tell long lost tales of expeditions, factories or mad scientist labs in lands out of reach, out of time. They stand proud and silent, awaiting your enquiring gaze, your thirst for adventure, your inquisitive touch. They never disappoint and always intrigue. That, I would venture, is the Brudniak touch. - Guillermo del Toro

Contributors include:

Steve Brudniak - Subject, Primary Author; Anjali Gupta - Editor and Introduction; Guillermo Del Toro - Foreword; Wayne Alan Brenner - Preface; Owen Ames - Essay Poem; Gerald Burns - Essay; Richard Cutler - Essay; Rachel Koper - Essay; Jack Massing - Essay; Wiley Wiggins - Essay;

Additional commentary by 19 art critics and curators:

Susan Chadwick - Critic, Houston Post; Kathryn Davidson - Curator, Menil, Austin Museum of Art; Louis Dobay - Critic, Houston Public News; Jim Edwards - Curator, San Antonio Museum of Art; Ben Fyfe - Curator, El Paso Museum of Art; Dan Goddard - Critic, San Antonio Express News; Sandra Goldman - Critic, Austin American Statesman; Alison De Lima Greene - Curator Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Paul Rogers Harris - Curator; Ken Hunt - Critic, Austin Chronicle; Jana Vander Lee - Critic, Houston Arts Magazine; Elizabeth McBride - Critic, Art News; Thomas McEvilley - Critic; Wendy Paris - Critic, Sculpture Magazine; Becky Duval Reese - Curator, El Paso Museum of Art; Christopher Schade - Critic, Austin Chronicle; Jeanne Claire van Ryzin - Critic, Austin American Statesman; Elaine Wolf - Critic, San Antonio Current