in a ceremony with the mayor and dignitaries one sunny afternoon in ’ 81 . Reporters waited with cameras poised . “ The look on that lady-mayor ’ s face was priceless .”
Fountainhead included parts cast from four people including the feet of “ an 8-foot-tall giant ” and a friend ’ s breasts . Perhaps the most provocative element , title notwithstanding (“ nothing to do with Ayn Rand ,” Moffett asserts ) is the water spout : his ex-wife ’ s mouth wearing vampire fangs , obliging the drinker to use the fountain mouth-tomouth style .
Moffett spun in a fl urry of publicity and eventually bought it back from the city , which deemed Fountainhead “ too macabre ” for display . It has been listed on eBay since 2014 for $ 250,000 .
“ I had it listed for a quarter-million ? Well , for that I ’ d consider selling .” War Stories
“ I ’ ve been in a situation where you just see a thing and keep the snapshots of combat . And you can see it in your head afterward , just like a photograph . I can see it clearly , different images are always there — it ’ s not a horror story , it ’ s just a picture .”
The Portable War Memorial is actually two sculptures for which he won Best in Show at the Orlando Museum of Art ’ s First Thursdays event this November .
He fi rst made PWMI : a man committing suicide mounted on a remote controlled tank . It was on his mind after so many comrades took their lives over the years . The gun to his head — pulling away with a twisted grimace — is a sculpture that
Fountainhead , bronze sculpture
Moffett has made at least twice .
The surreal tank / suicide vet of PWMI counterbalances his hyperrealistic wheelchair vet in PWMII . He used himself as the model for both works . Mike , his son , helped with casting . Moffett passes off using his own body for the grittiest elements by paraphrasing Frida Kahlo , “ I ’ m the only one who is always around .”
Eventually , Moffett shaved his head to implant every hair individually in the statue ’ s silicone skin and utilized mail-ordered WWII-era glass eyeballs — prostheses that were not interred with corpses — from Germany .
Moffett ’ s wheelchair doppelgänger has a prosthetic leg that came from a yard sale , “ I used it just the way it came to me , with that sneaker .” He conceived of the man as a homeless “ vagabond veteran ” and wants to plant it someplace on the side of the road “ as a statement .”
Childrens War Memorial , bronze sculpture
You never know what ’ s going on with somebody . They look like they have no problems and have the world by the balls , but they might be losing it underneath .”
Artistic Suicide is another of Moffett ’ s cast heads , in the act of blowing out his brains .
“ I got a lot of things to do , and miles to go before I sleep . Like in Peter Pan , Captain Hook has the croc with the ‘ tick-tock ’ always chasing him ; that ’ s the way I feel — I know time is running out .”
Moffett tends not to be direct about his message , allowing the “ viewer to bring their own energy ” to the experience , and read in where they will . To see more of his work , visit moffettart . com .
Photos by Zen Moffett
“ The piece really is to bring attention to the fact that there ’ s a lot of anguish and angst .
Orlando Arts & Culture , v . 2.1
You can see more at : MoffettArt . com
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