2012

Balance Is a Verb

Jack Larimore

American, born 1950

This object represents Larimore’s first steps toward incorporating the human figure in his artwork. In his earlier, more spirited, creations he sometimes included hands but here we find a featureless face. Larimore turned more serious in later pieces like this one. The title taken literally means “to bring to steadiness.”

The precarious counterbalance between the elongated hand on one end and the weighty, moonlike orb on the other suggests that balance is not a natural state of being but requires action on our part. This sculpture comes the closest to being Larimore’s self-portrait, illustrating the balance he strives for between his head—the intellectual side—and his hands, which are an extension of his spirit.