Rocker Series

 Selected Works

Among Patterson’s recent sculptural explorations is an intriguing body of mid-scale work, the Rocker Series, comprised of several sculptures some of which are kinetic in nature and others that are static and balanced by either a simple blade and point or tripod type support system. Impetus for the series extemporaneously spawned from multiple curve-linear sketches he later transformed into elements for three dimensional bodies using foam core and other flat modeling materials. This iterative and fluid process affords the facility to leap back and forth and transition between what Patterson often describes as “drawing in space versus drawing on space”. The free-standing state of the initial maquettes for the series was achieved by joining the sketch pairs with elemental connecting bars. This type of construction is readily apparent in the first sculpture of the series, ‘Say it Loud’ and other Rocker Series works that followed shortly thereafter, such as ‘In Retrospect’ and ‘Ancestral Inclinations’.  

Sculptures in this series embody primary and ancillary elements that are joined and interlocked using slot-fitted and key construction, a technique employed in some of Patterson's early work in the 1970s. As an exploit of this construction technique some elements are rendered as interchangeable features affording a metamorphic-like quality and transformation of expression to certain sculptures.  The evolving series of work is transfused with an amalgamation of organic and geometric forms and contains sculptures fabricated primarily from bronze plate; with extensions of the series fabricated with hollow constructed stainless steel and corten steel. Bronze works within the series are finished with a vibrant medley of applied cold and hot patinas.

Similar to other bodies of Patterson’s work, the Rocker Series is comprised of a number of pieces that evoke an indelible narrative that is both commemorative of individuals of African ancestry and emblematic of significant events from African American culture and history. The fifteenth work of the Rocker Series titled, “Hymn to Freedom”, was composed in honor of three individuals, a famed jazz pianist Oscar Peterson the writer of the 1962 song “Hymn to Freedom” and two Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos. who won a gold and bronze medal, respectively, in the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico city and made an iconic stand with fists risen during their podium ceremony as a call for equal human rights and social justice for all in the US.