Stick Vega Exploding Sculpture? Dude, This Is Gonna Be Good!

The little plaster dude stands there, wrapped in fuse and layered with fine grade gunpowder.

I'm thinking. Maybe this is wrong.

I pour more gunpowder on the sculpture base and brush some into the cracks.

Does plaster burn?

The plan was simple enough.

Read some books on sculpture.

Then read Elon Musks favorite book. 

J. E Gordon's "Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down"

I learn things like, "In hard solids like metal or concrete or bone (or plaster) the elastic shearing strain is likely to be less than 1/57 radian.  Beyond this, the material will generally break or else flow like plastic in an irrecoverable way like butter".

Like butter?

Seriously.

That has got to help my wire and plaster human.

I pour more gunpowder on.

My exploded paintings and fusographs are awesome. I want to do this in space, though. 

Moving beyond 2 dimensions has got to be fun, right?

3D > 2D.

I have this thing about trying new things.

I light the fuse.

Dude, this is gonna be good!

Boom!

Artist Stick Vega studied mathematics and economics, earning a B.S. in economics from UW-Madison and an MBA from Edgewood College. He owned and was CEO of online apparel retailers WinterSilks and Venus Sportswear.  However, upon selling the companies more than a decade ago he headed straight to his studio - The Blast Factory in Madison, WI - to create explosive, modern art with gunpowder and high-speed fuse.  Stick's current work includes paintings, drawings, fusographs (exploded photographs), sculpture and writing. Please follow Stick on Facebook and/or Twitter.