Jonathan Borofsky’s Hammering Men series began in 1979 and became one of his best-known bodies of work with major installations in Seoul, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Basel, Seattle, and here in Dallas. Borofsky states, “My original concept was to have many Hammering Men, all hammering at different locations around the world – all at the same time – sort of a worldwide installation connecting us all together.” As a silhouette, the figure is anonymous, lacking any particular features that might help us to identify him. This allows him to serve as a global symbol — a champion of all working classes and a celebration of their accomplishments.

When he was 25 years old, Borofsky started counting for three hours a day, meticulously writing numbers in his sketchbook, convinced that this meditative process would reveal an underlying truth about the human spirit. He eventually began signing his works with numbers instead of his name, as seen on the Five Hammering Men series.