Like any worthwhile tale, the origin story behind Metal Fusion—Valley Art Gallery’s latest exhibition—begins with a yard sale, but more specifically, a “failed yard sale,” the exhibit’s featured artist, Shamrock Acosta, told the Sun.
Acosta’s initial goal was to make some dough selling all of his construction tools, a collection assembled throughout a 40-year-plus career in residential contracting and interior design.
“To my surprise, the yard sale clientele was brutal by offering pennies on the dollar,” Acosta said.
The sale wasn’t a complete failure though, he explained, as the experience inspired a more cathartic way to depart from his tool collection.
Most of Acosta’s construction career was spent in LA County, where he worked on several residential projects. Many of the homes, especially in Beverly Hills, were occupied by Hollywood stars. Among some of Acosta’s past clients were Kirk Douglas, Barbara Walters, Sylvester Stalone, and Johnny Carson.
“My client base was a mix of low and high end, I was very lucky to be involved with many movie stars and other celebrities,” Acosta said.
Whether or not the celebrity aspect added any extra value (this saw was used to cut So-and-so’s blah-blah), Acosta decided that selling his tool collection wasn’t personally satisfying enough.
“I was trying to close that chapter in my life, since my retirement in 2014,” Acosta said. “I decided that I would give my tools a proper sendoff as a second chance in life as repurposed art pieces.”
Thus began the foundation for Metal Fusion, which opened Sept. 4 and will run through Nov. 3 at the Santa Maria Airport. Ninety-five percent of the materials used to create the sculptures on display were repurposed from Acosta’s own tools—hand saws, metal grinders, electrical testing equipment—and additional discarded objects—automotive parts, coat hangers, cardboard signs, and several other kinds of “odds and ends.”
“I’m always trying to marry any and all materials to provide a representation of what would happen if I connect, modify, or fuse together this and that,” Acosta said.
Some of the end results include figures of spear-wielding warriors, daring tightrope walkers, and quirky robots—all partly inspired by Acosta’s nostalgic affinity for sci-fi, space opera, and other serialized genres.
“I don’t know about a theme. I’m a product of the ’50s, watching episodes of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, and reading books by Issac Asimo,” Acosta said.
“None of my creations are pre-planned. They are progressive morphing devices,” the artist added. “The jury is still out on my self-expressive intentions.”
But like most of the tools he used, Acosta likes to describe his art as “user friendly,” hoping each piece will invite fun conversation.
“I like the interpretations I sometimes hear from people when they try to interpret one of my art pieces,” said Acosta, who also hopes his emotional investment to the repurposed items will be apparent to viewers.
“I try to convey my experience to the public, the feel factor, as well as an emotional connection,” he said.
Acosta described the exhibit as a “second chance at life” for its source materials, as if they’ve become reincarnated, or even immortalized. Even aside from enjoying the catharsis of repurposing the objects, Acosta felt the project was just fun in general. The concept of assembling and reassembling cogs, coils, and other you-name-its—either back into their respective item’s original form or into something new entirely—caught his curiosity as a child.
“I remember fondly an experience when I was 6 or 7 years old,” Acosta explained. “I wanted to find out how the clock on my grandmother’s kitchen wall worked, so I took it apart, thinking I could put it back together and no one would know I took it apart.”
Unfortunately for him—and his grandma—Acosta wasn’t able to put the clock back together as originally planned, he said.
“When my Nana asked me if I had any part in it, my answer was, ‘I didn’t do it, Grandma.’”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood didn’t do it either! Contact him at [email protected].
