Conceived specifically for the ‘cyber-commons’ of the Norwalk Community College Center for Information Technology, the likenesses of these outstanding figures of history are presented against the backdrop of their own words, their heads turned and tilted as if in mid-conversation. These quoted words form a rich backdrop of powerful language as they engage in a metaphorical dialogue across space, time and history.

At a midpoint in the process, Barry and I positioned his working sculptures on my preliminary texts. We had decided early to let the sculptures obscure parts of the text, and this was a good opportunity to place them strategically.

The ten figures are: Ada Lovelace 1815-1852, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz 1646-1716, Fu Hsi c3000 BCE, Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci 1170-1250, Demosthenes c323 BCE, Alan Turing 1912-1954, Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammed ibn Musa c780-850, Granville T. Woods 1856-1910, Johannes Gutenberg c1397-1468, Raymon Llull c1235-1316.

The process of making these sculptures grew out of the two very different collaborators who made them. We needed to work independently and be able to come together by the deadline to cast them. I decided that I would set the type and cast the panels from plaster while Barry Svigals (left) would work on the heads. Additional raised typography was added for emphasis (below).