No Bucks Given

The Story Behind No Bucks Given

Humanity and Mother Nature have been engaged in a delicate dance for generations.

With the Industrial Revolution came iron, oil, factories, machinery, and eventually the automotive industry. Humanity built, manufactured, expanded, and progressed.

Along with that progress came consequences.

Pollutants entered the air, land, and water as the industrial world continued to grow.

And through it all, Mother Nature continued to give birth to life.

That relationship became the inspiration for No Bucks Given.

I created the buck from reclaimed automotive and industrial materials, using the products of humanity's industrial world to recreate something born from the natural one.

Gears become anatomy.

Rebar becomes antlers.

Mechanical components become the face of a living creature.

There is a contradiction in that, and it is intentional.

Industry and nature occupy the same sculpture, just as they increasingly occupy the same world.

Humanity continues to build.

Mother Nature continues to create.

And the delicate dance between them continues.

The Artist's Words

“As humanity and Mother Nature engaged in a delicate dance, the industrial revolution unfolded. Humanity ushered in the era of iron, oil, and automotive industries, with pollutants billowing from their factories. Despite this, Mother Nature defiantly continued to give birth to life...

...this piece portrays this intricate dance.”

~ Enrique Del Angel

Industrial Composition & Artistry

No Bucks Given is handcrafted from reclaimed automotive and industrial components, transforming materials associated with machinery and industry into the form of a buck.

Rebar and reclaimed steel form the large, asymmetrical antlers. Gears and other mechanical components create the head and facial structure, including a gear incorporated into the eye.

Intentional negative space remains throughout the composition, allowing the mechanical construction and natural form of the animal to exist together without completely defining every line.

The sculpture is supported by a circular mechanical base that anchors the large antler composition.

Artwork Details

Artist: Enrique Del Angel
Title: No Bucks Given
Year: 2024
Medium: Reclaimed automotive and industrial metal sculpture
Materials: Reclaimed automotive and industrial components, gears, rebar, and steel
Dimensions: 31" H × 16" W × 33½" D
Award: People’s Choice Award, Brownsville Recycling Art Competition, Brownsville, Texas, 2024
One-of-a-Kind Original Sculpture