The 99 Pieces Project

In April 2024 the enigmata "Sculpture Garden" was broken down into its 99 constituent parts and auctioned at a rate of one per day. Each enigma, microsculptural in their own right, was titled after meditation on shape, color, velocity, and mood.

The complete terms of the project were as follows: 

• The 99 individual sculptures comprised the meta-sculpture "Sculpture Garden," a work whose total dimensions equal roughly 240x65x6 mm. No authorized photograph of the meta-sculpture exists.

• Each enigma of the 99 Pieces Project was hand carved from 6mm baltic birch plywood with a scrollsaw, subsequently hand painted on both sides, and protected with a gloss clear coat.

• A maximum of one enigma was offered for auction per day. The opening bid of the initial sculpture of the 99 Pieces Project was set at $0.01, with each subsequent auction's opening bid increasing by one additional cent. The final sculpture was offered at an opening bid of $0.99. Auctions ran for five days, ending from April 6, 2023 through July 14, 2023.  No auction was scheduled to end on July 4, 2023 (a federal holiday).

• Winning bidders were offered the opportunity to be part of a private contact sheet of fellow collectors. While this was not compulsory it was recommended. Only a single collector elected to remain anonymous. The purpose of this contact list was to encourage exchange, lending, and resale of sculptures.

• The 99 sculptures of this project were divided among 13 successful bidders. The bulk of the collection (44 pieces) went to one collector.  There were six collectors that only obtained a single piece. Sculptures sold for an average price of $10.00. The most successful auction ("Daedalian Lament," lot 99) sold for a hammer price of $100.00. The least successful auction, and the only to sell for opening bid ("Casque Mordant," lot 19) sold for a hammer price of $0.19.

• The conception and execution of this project owes a debt to The 100 Puzzles Project of John Stokes/Custom Puzzle Craft.