Fallopian Tube Series

Created using stretch knit fabric supported by PVC rings of varying diameters, this giant slinky-type sculpture was first created for the first Boston Center for the Arts resident artist “Within” show held in the cavernous Cyclorama building.  Installed in several locations throughout New England during 1981 and 1982 as a focal point for various public interactions, the Fallopian Tube was an apropos name for describing the emergence of people through this simple mobile work of environmental art

This mobile red and black artwork spent much of the summer of 1982 tied up on Cathedral Rocks near Rockport, Cape Ann, MA where the artist often spent days and nights living within its form. As the “Sea Worm,” this large bulbous tube moved with the wind and was believed at one point to be a beached whale by the Coast Guard.  Many a visitor sat and contemplated the ceaseless movement of the ocean through the tube’s opening.  When the artist returned to Boston on the local train and with the permission the conductor, he stretched the Fallopian Tube out along the main isle of the train car, forcing people to move through the sculpture to exit the train.

In September 1982, WBZ-TV commissioned the artwork as “Callahan Tunnel” to be installed on the Boston Common as part of the first Kid’s Fair.  During the afternoon, over 100,000 youngsters walked through or played within this undulating tube of fabric.  Parents were heard saying, “They don’t want to come out of there,” and kids were heard saying “Can we come back and do it again later?”