In fact, Mr. Chatterley, 53, whose pieces will be part of SOFA New York in April, uses slabs of clay, shaping his hollow structures from the bottom up.
Plasticine or clay shaping is another way to decrease the aggression.
Some of the envelopes have markings that correspond to the clay shapes inside.
First, Ms. Bridgers put each of three clay shapes on the box individually — rectangle, then triangle, then a bridge.
The box responds not to the clay shapes but to a switch under the table controlled by Ms. Bridgers.
In 1953, he made a student film, "Gumbasia" — the title was a nod to "Fantasia" — in which clay shapes dance to a jazz soundtrack.
The theory advanced by Schmandt-Besserat to explain this transformation is that the clay shapes are tokens representing agricultural goods such as grain, sheep, and cattle and that they were used as a form of bookkeeping.
Seated at a child-size table, Esther leaned forward on her elbows to watch as Ms. Bridgers brought out a small bin of clay shapes and told her that some of them were blickets but most were not.
Its morphing colors and choreographed clay shapes and figures are inexplicably beautiful and set to an excellent score by Aaron M. Olson.
