Hammering Man, the iconic 48’ tall kinetic sculpture sited outside of Seattle Art Museum, will take a rest along with many of Seattle’s workers on Monday, September 3, in honor of Labor Day. The artist, Jonathan Borofsky, has created numerous Hammering Man sculptures of different sizes that are sited all over the world including New York, Los Angeles, Germany and Japan. Seattle’s version is 48 feet tall (the second tallest in the world) and weighs 26,000 pounds. Each Hammering Man is marked with a unique number. Seattle’s is #3277164.
The Hammering Man‘s arm “hammers” silently and smoothly four times per minute. It runs on a 3-hp electric motor set on an automatic timer. Hammering Man rests its arm every year on Labor Day.
Hammering Man is one of Seattle’s public artworks and is maintained by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.
– Calandra Childers, Communications Manager