Client: American Axle de Mexico & American Axle & Manufacturing US
Location: Guanauato, Mexico
Completion date: 1999
Artwork budget: $150,000
Project Team
Industry Resource
ART Research Enterprises, Inc.
ART Research Enterprises, Inc.
Artist
Gerald Siciliano Studio
Studio
Overview
The client American Axle and Manufacturing of Detroit commissioned the two life size bronze figures as part of a suite that also includes two water jet cut wall reliefs in stainless steel. The now more than 700,000 square foot corporate headquarters of AAM de Mexico is located in Guanuato, Silao, Mexico.
Goals
Working closely with the client principal, the director, architect and design team the entry lobby suite was designed for seamless integration to the existing floor plan. Recognizable and evocative imagery were crucial to the client providing visitors and staff an engaging visual introduction to the corporation and facility.
Process
The four component parts - two bronze figures and two 4 ft by 10 foot stainless steel 3d drawings were designed in close collaboration with the client to present a narrative, defining the history of the clients fabrication history, that of the factory site and to showcase and honor the contribution of the plant operators/associates. The inaugural ceremony, commencing at the reception lobby, was a festive success attended by corporate representatives of the US and Mexican managing teams, local officials and the entire workforce of the new facility.
Additional Information
The entire project was conceived, designs revised and fabricated in both the US and Mexico. Artist visits to the Detroit facility and to the construction site of the state of the art factory in Mexico provided the client base intellectual and visual material incorporated into the final sculptures. The subjects for this sculpture were two AAM de Mexico worker associates who performed this assembly procedure at the work station just beyond the pictured doors.