The Hammering Man was commissioned in 1990 by Jerry Speyer for the new Messeturm building in Frankfurt (architect: Helmut Jahn). The Hammering Man is a symbol for the worker in all of us. The motorized arm of the hammering man continuously swings its hammer back and forth - from the mind to the hand and back again. We all use our minds and our hands to create our world. I like to say 'between the mind and the hand, there is the heart.'

I made my first "worker" (Hammering Man) in 1979, when I used it as part of my installation at the Paula Cooper Gallery. I cut this first Hammering Man out of plywood (11 feet tall), painted it black and got some help with the motor for the arm. My original concept was to have many Hammering Men, all hammering at different locations around the world - all at the same time. In fact today, there are quite a few wooden "indoor" Hammering Men (different sizes) that exist in different places as well as several large steel outdoor variations. The largest Hammering Man to date is the 70 foot piece in Frankfurt shown here. A 72 Hammering Man is now being completed for Seoul, Korea. Other outdoor Hammering Men are in Los Angeles, Dallas, Basel and Seattle.

Early Installation References