Cupid's Span
Project
Cupid's Span’s bow by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen is made of vinyl-ester resin and glass fiber reinforcement over PVC core. Composite skins are thermally isolated and bonded to the structural steel armature. The arrow shaft is extruded type 304 stainless steel. Feathers are resin and E-Glass reinforcement with gelcoat and automotive urethane topcoat. The sculpture was commissioned by Donald and Doris Fisher of The Gap for inclusion in Rincon Park. The design fabrication process, engineering, and manufacturing of the sculpture was derived from the artist's renderings and a small maquette. Feathers were fabricated from laser-scan data and enlarged using CNC-milled EPS foam molds. The bowstring is a stainless steel rod with molded FRP cover.
Details
Location: San Francisco, CA
Client Name: Doris and Donald Fisher Fund
Expertise: The design fabrication process, engineer, and manufacture of the sculpture from artist's renderings and scale models. Fabrication included steel armature, stainless steel arrow shaft, FRP feathers made from laser-scanned artist model enlarged and molded in one-off CNC-milled EPS foam molds, and bow elements consisting of FRP sandwich panels over a structural steel armature. The bowstring is a stainless rod under molded FRP cover.
Partners:
Kurt Jordan: M.E. P.E.
