Regardless of Beck’s vision and intention for this piece, what exists in its incomplete state is an arrestingly beautiful wooden sculpture of an elephant that defies its cabinetry and radiates the fullness and vulnerability of its being. In talking about the work in progress, David cited the maxim of the blind men and the elephant; directed to touch different and discrete areas of an elephant each man was then asked to state what they thought they were touching. Of course none agreed and none were able to recognize it as an elephant. There are different interpretations of the meaning but ultimately what is questioned is our ability to understand a being through isolated and strictly superficial experience and more deeply, that our senses are limited, and that there exists in all things an unknowableness. Other times Beck spoke about his elephant as a meditation on memory which is supported by the fact that he was slowly filling the drawers of the elephant with carved scenes that reference past projects. As with the dodo there is a sense of transference that exists between the sculpture and artist that casts its shadow upon the piece as well, and is experienced by those who were close with Beck. Although unfinished, it is included among his major works.
boxwood, brass, glass
21 ¼" × 28 ½" × 16 ¾"