Artwork copyright Ross Brown. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Thought Collector with Cone Illuminator, 1984

Ross Brown
American (born 1946)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

About the Artwork

Thought Collector with Cone Illuminator is one of artist Ross Brown's miniatures of fantastical monuments. This piece is part of a series called "Dialogue with the Sun." The design features a suspended cone hovering over a disc. As a child, Brown was fascinated by archeological ruins like Stonehenge and Easter Island. This interest, combined with his love of toy models and miniature cars and trains, form the inspiration for the series. He notes, "The use of miniature allows me the opportunity to experience many large-scale ideas. Whether they are realized is not the point… The monuments are, in a way, about the thought process itself, and the trigger."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State Arts Commission.

About the Artist

Northwest artist Ross Brown creates metal sculptures.
Brown received a bachelor's degree in art from Indiana University in 1969. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Oregon, and completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1981. He has served as a welding and metal casting teacher at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, an Instructional Technician for the sculpture department at the University of Washington, and a professor of art at Bellevue College. He runs a metal foundry in Enumclaw, Western Washington.