Stone Sculptor Completes Year-Long Project of Glowing TRON Identity Disc: Sculpture For Sale Through Auction With Proceeds Going to code.org

 

LIVINGSTON, NJ (July 2021) – Taking Disney’s TRON fandom to a whole new level, New Jersey artist Dan Saland announces the release of a hand-carved replica of the identity disc from the 1982 classic film. The one-of-a-kind sculpture is available for sale, via www.ebay.com/itm/313595711921, beginning on July 9: the 39^th Anniversary of the movie’s release. Proceeds from the sale will go to code.org, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing the participation in Computer Science by young women and students from other underrepresented groups.

 

TRON (1982) is a sci-fi action-adventure film about a rebel video game programmer (Jeff Bridges), who gets transported into a computer software world, where programs interact like people and circuits are like freeways, and losing a game can result in “deresolution.” The identity disc is the most critical piece of the equipment for programs on the GRID. It records everything a program does and its rings glow when in use. Saland’s sculpture, End of Line, is modeled after TRON’s disc. It holds information that will free the system from Master Control’s tyrannical rule and order. End of Linesits atop a custom-built, light-up base. It weighs approx. 40lbs and measures 16”x14”x14”. 

 

“I grew up on TRON and simply love the franchise,” stated Saland about this recent project. “I shared the experience with my son during those long, stay-at home, early days of the pandemic. We binge-watched the movies and the animated series on Disney+. Not only did my reacquaintance with the stories inspire the sculpture, but it also influenced my son’s interest in digital design and coding. This sculpture is sure to be a prized possession for any TRON fan out there. Also, we are supporting a great charity by helping educate tomorrow’s computer scientists.”   

 

To create the sculpture, Saland began the process in August of 2019, with a chunk of white, translucent, Italian alabaster. As if powered by the GRID itself, the rings he sculpted radiate from carefully inlaid, glow-in-the-dark, epoxy resin. End of Line symbolizes the moment when reality meets the GRID: a central concept within the film. Using nothing more than a few references from the movie, a vision for the piece, many different hand tools (e.g. hammers, chisels, rasps...) and bona fide imagination, Saland was able to create a genuine piece of art that, according to him, “is one of [his] most creative sculptures as of yet.”

 

Dan Saland is an award-winning stone sculptor and licensed clinical psychologist. What began as a mere hobby ten years ago quickly escalated into his work being featured in exhibitions and festivals, including the 2021 Rockland Arts Festival (for his sculptured piece called the Silverback Gorilla) and the 2019 Gaelen Gallery (for his sculptured piece called Big Red), where he won the Best in Sculpture Award.

 

To place a bid at the auction, please visit: www.ebay.com/itm/313595711921