At first glance, Siah Armajani’s sculpture, Elements #15, 1987¬88, appears as an abstract composition of symmetrically balanced geometric shapes, lines, and masses, created of corrugated aluminum, painted steel, brick, wood, and rope. Yet the artist describes it as “the first figurative work I have ever made.” In truth it is modelled on the cantilevering principles that designer Benjamin Baker developed for the Forth Bridge in Scotland, and holds specific references to a photograph of Baker’s men using the weights of their bodies, counterbalancing brick weights, and ropes to demonstrate the mechanics of the bridge. Armajani has mimicked the arrangement of men and weights, substituting human-scaled brick and corrugated metal for them, and by so doing rendering his sculpture both abstract and referential.

Reviewing a 2002 exhibition of the Iranian-born Minneapolis- based artist’s work, a New York Times critic wrote, “Unquestionably American in his outlook and interests, Mr. Armajani, nonetheless remains indebted to the rich culture of his native land. He is a builder of bridges, real and metaphoric, during a time that has distanced the two regions of the world he considers his spiritual homes.” As Armajani metaphorically bridges his cultural sources, he also, as Elements #15 proves, actually builds bridges. He is drawn to the clarity and purity of American vernacular structures—farm buildings, grain silos, covered bridges, and that fundamental interest informs much of his work.