Interested in going beyond the "embryo state" of a wedge, Beverly Pepper created a work which is both a monument to tools and the spiritual product of tools, i.e. civilization. Working with an Italian foundry, she transferred her original wood pattern into iron; at Western she specified that this studio sculpture - already with a strong vertical thrust - be placed on a mound in a peopled area. Seen in profile, the sculpture is like a column; viewed from another side, the expansive wedge suggests an altar.