Anselm Kiefer - one of the most important German artists of the 20th century approached our foundry to translate one of his monumental lead sculptures entitled "Die Sprache der Vögel" (The language of birds) into a bronze sculpture via moulding and direct casting.
There were a few technical hurdles to overcome during the realisation, for example only the lower part of the sculpture could be moulded with silicone and then a wax positive could be made with this mould.
This is where our technical manager came in, who modelled the wings of the lead sculpture 1:1 in wax, which were then melted out directly in the typical plaster fireclay cylinders (in four elements per wing side). It was a very tricky and risky business, because with direct casting the previously painstakingly created wax model is melted out and thus disappears.
Fortunately, the casting was immediately successful and the four individual elements could be seamlessly welded together to form a wing, whereupon a white-grey patina was applied to look as similar as possible to the lead.
The bronze version of the "Die Sprache der Vögel" looks confusingly similar to the lead sculpture, although the appearance is slightly different due to the different material (the lead feathers measure 2 mm, the bronze feathers measure 4 mm), but the sculpture is "indestructible" and made to last forever.
The sculpture is installed at the Chiemseehof in Salzburg.
