Hammering Man
by Jonathan Borofsky, 1991
Details
- Year
- 1991
- Medium
- Painted steel with motorized arm
- Size
- Various (14.6 m / 48 ft in Seattle)
Jonathan Borofsky created multiple Hammering Man sculptures for cities around the world. The most famous is the 14.6-meter (48-foot) painted steel silhouette outside the Seattle Art Museum, installed in 1991. The flat, black figure swings a motorized arm up and down four times per minute, hammering silently.
Other versions stand in Frankfurt (21 meters), Basel, Seoul, and several other cities. Borofsky intended the figure as a tribute to all workers. The Seattle version's arm stops on Labor Day each year. In 1993, someone strapped a ball and chain to its ankle as a prank, which the museum left in place for a while.
About Hammering Man
Multiple versions exist worldwide. The most famous is the 14.6-meter (48-foot) version outside the Seattle Art Museum. Others are in Frankfurt (21 meters, the tallest), Basel, Seoul, New York, Minneapolis, and other cities. Free to view outdoors.
Yes. A motorized arm swings up and down four times per minute, 20 hours a day. It rests from midnight to 4 a.m. and stops entirely on Labor Day each year, a deliberate tribute to the workers the sculpture represents.
Borofsky said it honors all workers. The featureless silhouette is deliberately generic: no face, no identity, just the universal act of labor. The repetitive motion echoes the daily routine of work. It's both a monument and a quiet social commentary.
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