STAINLESS STEEL AS MY MEDIUM, AND SCULPTURE AS THE MEDIA THAT I CHOOSE TO WORK IN, HAS THIS, I LOVE THE SENSE OF IMMEDIACY IN WORKING WITH IT.

IT'S BEING ABLE TO TAKE A HEAVY SOLID THING OR A LIGHT SOLID THING OR A LIGHT FLIMSY THING, BEING ABLE TO INTRODUCE AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT TO IT, WATCHING SOMETHING THAT GOES FROM SOLID, TO LIQUID, BACK TO SOLID IN A MERE MICROSECOND, AND BEING ABLE TO WATCH IT STAND ON ITS OWN.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I FIND EXCITING, AND I GUESS MAGICAL.

I'M ORIGINALLY FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AN AREA CALLED BEDFORD-STUYVESANT.

IF YOU'VE SEEN THE OLD MOVIE DO THE RIGHT THING, THAT WAS FILMED ABOUT SIX BLOCKS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE.

ARTISTS SUCH AS JAY-Z, NOTORIOUS B.I.G., THE RZA FROM WU-TANG, THEY CAME UP FROM AROUND MY AREA.

I GREW UP WHERE I DIDN'T HAVE MY PARENTS PUT BLOCKS IN FRONT OF ME AND SAY THAT I CAN'T.

BOTH MY PARENTS REFUGED TO THIS COUNTRY, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT WAS TO, OF COURSE, WORK HARD, STUDY, AND MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU DO IS WORTH DOING.

WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, I PRETTY MUCH DID A LOT OF DRAWING.

DRAWING, FOR ME, WAS A NICE MECHANISM TO RELEASE ENERGY, PENT UP ENERGY.

SO I USED IT AS A COPING MECHANISM IN SCHOOL.

I WENT TO A HIGH SCHOOL THAT HAD THREE YEARS OF ART TRAINING.

I WAS ABLE TO SHARPEN MY EYE, MY ILLUSTRATION SKILLS.

IT WAS AT NOTRE DAME THAT I REALLY GOT EXPOSED TO SCULPTURE, AND TAKING BASIC COURSES, TAKING WELDING COURSES.

DURING THAT TIME, THAT PRETTY MUCH SET THE COURSE OF ME DOING WHAT I'M DOING, I MET A LIVING LEGEND, AN ARTIST BY THE NAME OF RICHARD HUNT.

I HAD SOMEONE WHO LOOKED SIMILAR TO ME, HAD A SIMILAR BACKGROUND BEING FROM THE INNER CITY, CREATING THESE PIECES THAT THE SMITHSONIAN NAMED HIM THE PREEMINENT SCULPTOR OF THE 20TH CENTURY IN 2000.

SO TO HAVE SOMEBODY OF THIS STATURE GIVE ME ADVICE AT AN EARLY AGE, I WAS LIKE, YEAH I CAN DO THIS.

I APPLIED FOR GRAD SCHOOL, RECEIEVED A FELLOWSHIP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, AND WHILE I WAS THERE, I ACTUALLY MET AN ARTIST BY THE NAME OF JOHN HENRY, AND THAT'S WHAT LED ME TO CHATTANOOGA.

I RESEARCHED ISAAC AND I HIRED HIM.

AND HE RAN MY STUDIO AND MY WHOLE OPERATION FOR THREE YEARS, SO WHAT HE DIDN'T KNOW, HE LEARNED.

I ALWAYS SAY, AND WILL ALWAYS SAY, THAT I RECEIVED MY PHD AT THE SCHOOL OF JOHN HENRY.

JUST WATCHING SOMEBODY THAT'S ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED, AND SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN THERE, JUST WATCHING THEM AND HOW THEY DEAL WITH THEIR OWN CREATIVE PROBLEMS IS A REAL EDUCATION IN ITSELF.

I TRAVELED ALL AROUND THE WORLD WITH HIM, PUTTING UP PIECES, TAKING THEM DOWN, LEARNING ABOUT LOGISTICS AND HOW TO GET TO A MONUMENTAL SCALE.

AND DURING MY LAST YEAR OF WORKING WITH HIM, MY THIRD YEAR, I DECIDED THAT IF I NEEDED TO AND WANTED TO GET TO HIS STAGE, OR NEAR HIS STAGE, I NEEDED TO STEP AWAY AND START MAKING MY OWN WORK.

ISAAC, I THINK, IS A SCULPTOR WHICH I WOULD DESCRIBE AS AN EXPERIMENTER.

I WOULD DESCRIBE HIS WORK AS CLEAN, AS THOUGHTFUL, SOMETIMES MONUMENTAL.

I ALWAYS CAN TELL AN ISAAC PIECE BECAUSE IT DEALS WITH VERY SIMPLE GEOMETRY, BUT THERE'S A COMPOSITION QUALITY TO IT THAT IS NOT SIMPLE.

THERE'S A FEELING OF MOVEMENT THAT'S ALWAYS GENERATED IN THE WORK BASED ON HOW HE'S ARRANGING THOSE GEOMETRIC SHAPES, AND HE'S USING THAT TO CREATE A DYNAMIC THAT'S, I GUESS, IMPLYING MOTION.

IT'S REALLY THE EXPORATION OF FORMS, MASS, VOID, GRAVITY, AND HOW ONE CAN MANIPULATE THE SPACE AROUND A PARTICULAR AREA WITH THOSE IN MIND.

THE METAL THAT I CHOOSE, STAINLESS, STAINLESS STEEL IS AN ALLOY.

IN ITS STRUCTURE, IT IS MIXED, AND MY HERITAGE, BEING BOTH LATIN AND BLACK, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SPEAKS TO ME WITHIN THE MATERIALS THAT I USE.

I DON'T DO A LOT OF DRAWINGS WITH MY PIECES.

WHAT I USUALLY DO IS I'LL CREATE THEM IN A SMALLER SCALE MODEL FORM.

AND I DO THAT BECAUSE FOR ME, IT'S LIKE I'M WORKING IN 3D, SO I WANT MY WHOLE EXPERIENCE OF CREATING TO BE THREE DIMENSIONAL.

IT'S COMING FROM THESE TINY THINGS, AND THEN THOSE EXPRESSIONS, HE'S JUST BUILDING THEM BIG.

AND THAT'S A DIFFERENT WAY TO WORK.

I HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF MATERIAL THAT I KEEP FROM OTHER PROJECTS THAT I USE.

I NEVER THROW AWAY A PIECE.

THE WORD SCRAP IS NOT IN MY VOCABULARY.

EVEN IF IT'S A TINY LITTLE PIECE OF STEEL, YOU JUST TOSS IT IN A BUCKET.

MAYBE IT BECOMES A PART OF A PIECE OF ARTWORK OR ONE OF HIS ART SKETCHES.

AND SO ISAAC HAS ALL THESE PILES ALL OVER THE STUDIO THAT'S METAL, BUT IT'S NOT TRASH PILES.

IT'S RESOURCE PILES.

SMALL PIECES ARE REALLY INTERESTING.

YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS IF I TAKE THIS PIECE AND PUT IT ON TOP?

AND THEN BUILD THIS PIECE OFF TO COME UP HERE?

IT'S KIND OF LIKE BEING A MAD SCIENTIST OR THAT WILD ALCHEMIST.

YOU KNOW, PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER AND SEEING WHAT HAPPENS, BEING ABLE TO DEFY GRAVITY.

AND THEN HAVE A SPHERE ON IT?

HE IS A THINKER, AND A PRETTY THOROUGH THINKER, BUT I THINK HIS WORK ALSO FROM TIME TO TIME WILL LEAD HIM, AND THAT'S A PLEASURE TO WATCH.

WHAT I DO APPRECIATE ABOUT ISAAC AS AN ARTIST AND JUST AS A HUMAN BEING, IS THAT HIS WORK DOESN'T STAY WITHIN THE WALLS OF HIS STUDIO, AND THE WORTH OF HIS WORK DOESN'T STAY IN THE WALLS OF HIS STUDIO.

I THINK HE'S OPEN TO SHARING THE RESOURCES THAT HE HAS AND THEN HE'S OPEN TO SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE HAS WITH PEOPLE AND SYSTEMS.

HE'S DEEP IN THE BACKGROUND OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLOSED SPACES THAT'S INFORMING WHAT ART LOOKS LIKE IN CHATTANOOGA IN THE FUTURE.

HAVING PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS AT THE TABLE IS SO CRITICAL, BECAUSE ARTISTS THINK DIFFERENTLY, AND SOMETIMES BETTER AND MORE CREATIVELY, THAN NON-ARTISTS.

AND I THINK THAT EVERY ORGANIZATION CAN REALLY BENEFIT FROM THE ARTIST'S VIEWPOINT.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I MAKE ART AND I GET OUT IN THE PUBLIC AND TRY TO BE A STEWARD FOR THE ARTS IS BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT I WAS GIVEN A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF.

I GIVE AS I'VE BEEN GIVEN, AND I TRY TO CONTINUE BECAUSE IT TAKES EVERYONE TO DO THEIR PART IF WE WANT TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY BE FULL.

YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY IS HE INVOLVED IN ART IN PUBLIC PLACES AND HIS OWN WORK AND SITTING ON ART AND CULTURE COMMITTEES, BUT HE'S ALSO VERY INVESTED IN PERPETUATING EDUCATION ABOUT SCULPTURE.

IT'S A RESPONSIBILITY, THAT BECAUSE I'VE REACHED A CERTAIN POINT IN MY CAREER AND HAD SO MANY DOORS OPENED FOR ME, I HAVE TO OPEN THE DOORS AND THE MINDS OF OTHERS THAT ARE WANTING TO DO THE SAME.

SO THE IDEA IS YOU MAKE SURE TO KEEP THIS NICE AND FLAT.

WHEN I GO OUT AND DO WHATEVER I DO, I'M NOT ONLY CARRYING MY DREAMS AND HOPES, BUT I'M ALSO CARRYING MY PARENTS' DREAMS AND HOPES.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I BELIEVE, BEING AN ARTIST, IS THAT I'M FULFILLING THAT.

BECAUSE I CAN WAKE UP, CREATE, CREATE SOMETHING FROM MY MIND, AND THEN MAKE A LIVING OFF OF THAT.

AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING FREER THAN BEING AN ARTIST IN THIS WORLD.