Cable Piece
"Cable Piece" is an artwork by Betty Beaumont. I have included Wikipedia's description about it below. I want to know whether the word "PIECE" in its title mean "part" or "artwork"? I think the former. I think it means "some part or amount of cable".Am I right?

Context:
In 1977, Beaumont created Cable Piece, forming an enormous iron ring of 4,000 feet of cable measuring 100 feet in diameter, which was left to bury itself slowly in the ground on a farm in Macomb, Illinois. The rust content of the ring affected the growth pattern of the soil, over time transforming the metal ring into a lush grass circle. The ring configuration suggested technological and mythological connections with the Fermi Laboratory, a neutron accelerator plant located nearby, and Native American burial and ceremonial mounds of the Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Beaumont)

Question

Cable Piece
"Cable Piece" is an artwork by Betty Beaumont. I have included Wikipedia's description about it below. I want to know whether the word "PIECE" in its title mean "part" or "artwork"? I think the former. I think it means "some part or amount of cable".Am I right?

Context:
In 1977, Beaumont created Cable Piece, forming an enormous iron ring of 4,000 feet of cable measuring 100 feet in diameter, which was left to bury itself slowly in the ground on a farm in Macomb, Illinois. The rust content of the ring affected the growth pattern of the soil, over time transforming the metal ring into a lush grass circle. The ring configuration suggested technological and mythological connections with the Fermi Laboratory, a neutron accelerator plant located nearby, and Native American burial and ceremonial mounds of the Midwest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Beaumont)

Answer

Hi

It's a deliberate play on words I think. The artist probably chose the word 'piece' because they knew that it means both 'artwork' & 'part'. Of course, this is art so the language used to describe it is poetic, therefore I can't be 100% certain.

Chris

Answer

Hi Pineapple. Often times in creative forms of expression such as music, art and dance, one "work', routine or song would be referred to as a "piece". My guess is that it's called a piece because it is a "portion" of something bigger / greater such as a collection.  For example, an artist may have a large collection of paintings, each one an individual, or "piece" of the larger collection. The best painting in the artist's collection would be considered the "Masterpiece".  hope this helps

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