Garapata

Working with an automatic method of cutting and folding paper, John Keppelman arrived at the simple shapes of this sculpture. Because these shapes suggested a sense of soaring motion, he named it "Garapata" after a dramatic California setting, a river and canyon which intersects with the Pacific Ocean which he knew in his youth.

Underlying Trakas' carefully paced movement is a sense of adventure between landings. In Keppelman's Garapata (1978) there is a sense of soaring above the ordinary. The work comes from a series where Keppelman was using an automatic method of cutting and folding paper to arrive at shapes for sculpture. In Keppelman's sculpture certain traditions mingle with flights of fancy. The art of folding paper to form a natural shape is a part of Japanese customs, the subconscious game of the surrealists, and the entertainment of schoolboys. Since Keppelman knew the writer Annie Dillard, it is useful to compare her writing with Keppel­man's search.