DAVID BECK, AMERICAN, CALIFORNIA 1953-2018,DAVID BECK, AMERICAN, CALIFORNIA 1953-2018, TURTLE, 1992, MIXED MEDIA CONSTRUCTION, OVERALL MEASUREMENTS: 50 1/2 IN. HEIGHT (128.3 CM.), 40 IN WIDTH AND 21.5 IN DEPTH; HEIGHT OF TURTLE AND NATURALISTIC BASE: 33 X 40 X 21DAVID BECK, AMERICAN, CALIFORNIA, 1953-2018 TURTLE, 1992, Mixed media construction Mounted on a wooden base and electrified; Signed and dated on the switch plate: David Beck 1992; along with green tube of wood parts; base decorated with snake, several salamanders, foliage and flowers Catalogue note: David Beck is influenced by crank toys, whirligigs, and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century mechanical robots called automata that delighted, and sometimes tricked, children and adults. An accomplished woodworker, sculptor, painter and craftsman, Beck builds intricate moving sculptures such as operas, band shells, movie houses, and museums. Beck handcrafts each complex component himself using rare materials such as linden and walnut woods, ivories, inlays, lacquers, and mussel and ostrich-egg shells. He is a musician as well as an artist and records many of the sound effects for his pieces. (https://americanart.si.edu/artist/david-beck-27231) The artist made a two-minute video of the work in motion (https://vimeo.com/21095970) Mixed media construction Dimensions: Overall measurements: 50 1/2 in. height (128.3 cm.), 40 in width and 21.5 in depth; Height of turtle and naturalistic base: 33 x 40 x 21 1/2 in. (83.8 x 101.6 x 54.6 cm.)