An interview with the artist William King

As a child, William King built model airplanes and carved cities out of coral with a screwdriver "chisel" and a hammer "mallet" (William King: Forty Years of Work in Wood, 1994). He briefly studied engineering at the University of Florida before enrolling in the architecture program at the Cooper Union Art School. During his first year at Cooper Union, King was impressed by the steel sculptures of David Smith and promised to make a similar piece for an attractive female classmate. He began selling works to friends and fellow students and committed himself to a career in sculpture. King constructs his pieces from a variety of materials, ranging from burlap to wood to aluminum. He draws inspiration from daily life, and his tall, elongated figures imitate everyday human gestures, poking fun at human behavior.

http://www.americanart.si.edu/luce/artist.cfm?key=344&artistmedia=690&object=165385&subkey=2635