Sanctuary (sculpture)

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In 1982, Martin Puryear made the sculpture "Sanctuary". This sculpture is mounted on the wall and was made from pine, maple, and cherry. It is an open box with two thick branches connected to it. The branches extend in a downward motion connecting to the axle of a wheel. Sanctuary relies on both the wall and the floor for support. It is because of this characteristic that the sculpture symbolizes stability and mobility^[who?]. The box is solid and firmly on the wall, while the wheel is free to rotate on the floor. Yet, the wheel cannot go very far because of the box that is securing it. Puryear's minimalistic ideals come into play here as the wheel is made out of pure wood and the sticks connecting the box and the wheel are tree branches, not even cut. He used absolutely no technology in the creation of this work of art, so it is suffice to say that cavemen thousands of years ago could have created this same work, just devoid of the same thought process. It is so primitive that he chooses to make the wheel completely solid, it lacks such basic parts as spokes. Puryear says that Sanctuary is like many of his other works, they deal with "mobility and a kind of escapism, of survival through flight."^{[citation needed]}