Canons from the collection of Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Viewing collection Sculpture & Relief Clear context

Canons, 2010

3 rubber band balls and corresponding x-rays. Each x-ray reveals a bronze cast human skull holding a book in its mouth. One holds a copy of a Christian Bible, one holds a copy of the Hebrew Tanakh and one holds a copy of the Islamic Qur’an

Dimensions variable

Attribution: Gift of the Artist

Inv: 2025.8.1

Location: Collection Storage Hanging Storage

Canons (2010) presents 3 enormous rubber band balls and corresponding x-rays. Each x-ray reveals a bronze cast human skull holding a book in its mouth. One holds a copy of a Christian Bible, one holds a copy of the Hebrew Tanakh and one holds a copy of the Islamic Qur’an.

The work is from the series Inevitable Forms (2004-2021). Wrapping objects shifts them from their original unique physical forms toward becoming the same ‘inevitable’ metaphoric form of a sphere. The act of wrapping functions as a reverential reference to cultural acts such as ceremonial wrapping, gift giving, and burial rituals such mummification. Simultaneously, the wrapping also references the gradual accumulation of layers and physical pressures of geologic and celestial accretion by which larger forms are created over vast periods of time, and at the planetary scale physical mass will inevitably succumb to the force of gravity and collapse into the form of a sphere. The fact that all forms when wrapped and placed under pressure will always move toward becoming the same form (a sphere) is a metaphorical reference toward philosophies, sciences and religions that imply all things are manifestations of or linked to a singular context. The finished work initially presents as a series of large paradoxically humorous ‘rubber band balls’ until the viewer realizes the contents and is invited toward a deeper contemplative experience. Canons invites the viewer to contemplate both the aspirational goals of three religions as well as the physical violence and discord historically linked to each of these faiths.

The use of X-rays reveals the interiors and reference forms "scientific" imaging that present Modernist concepts of truth in contrast to other forms of photography that postmodernism reveals as conditional truth or acts of simulacra.

Originally exhibited as a kinetic work where the balls were lifted and dropped to create a low frequency floor strike sending a physical shock wave through the floor to the viewer. This version of the work is non-kinetic as shown.

EPDM bands used to create this work are chemical and UV resistant and have an archival life expectancy of 200+ years.

From Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College

Ibrahim Said

Uraeus 1, 2023

White earthenware

15.75 x 9.5 x 4.25 in (40.01 x 24.13 x 10.8 cm)
Restu Ratnaningtyas

Walk With Me, 2017

Mixed media installation (watercolor on paper, fiber, sound file)
Cort Savage

Everything Everywhere is Already Alright, 2004

EPDM rubber bands, light box, x-ray, .32 caliber revolver, loaded and cocked
Ce Scott-Fitts

Can You Pass the Color Bar?, 1991

Mixed media on wood

31.5 x 25.5 x 2.75 in (80.01 x 64.77 x 6.99 cm)
Ce Scott-Fitts

Lighten Up, 1991

Mixed media

31.5 x 23.125 x 2.75 in (80.01 x 58.74 x 6.99 cm)
Larry Rivers

Blue Collar Holiday, 1990

3-D multiple, wood relief, collage and hand painting on wood

47.25 x 38 x 5 in (120.02 x 96.52 x 12.7 cm)
Larry Rivers

Swimmer, 1970

Screenprint on Plexiglas

9.125 x 9.25 x 4.5 in (23.18 x 23.5 x 11.43 cm)
Larry Rivers

Amboseli Elephants, 1968

Acrylic on metal

26 x 36 x 5.25 in (66.04 x 91.44 x 13.34 cm)

View All Artworks

About the artist

Cort Savage

American

b. 1965

American sculptor, Cort Savage received a BA in Fine Arts from Indiana University and an MFA in Sculpture from Syracuse University. He was instrumental in establishing the Belk Visual Arts Center on the campus of Davidson College, where he taught sculpture and drawing for thirty years. He retired from Davidson in 2025.

His sculptures are characterized by kinetics and use of rubber-bands. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including at the Mint Museum of Art, Cameron Museum of Art, and the New Orleans Center for Contemporary Art. He received numerous grants and fellowships, including from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Southern Arts Federation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional Details

Additional Artworks

Uraeus 1, 2023

Walk With Me, 2017

Everything Everywhere is Already Alright, 2004

Can You Pass the Color Bar?, 1991

Lighten Up, 1991

Blue Collar Holiday, 1990

Swimmer, 1970

Amboseli Elephants, 1968

About the artist

Cort Savage