Emotional Slaughter, completed in 1987, stands as a striking example of Joel Otterson's ability to transform industrial and domestic materials into charged sculptural statements. Rising to nearly two meters in height, the work assembles copper pipes, plastic fittings, a metal plate, and a wooden tabletop into a form that hovers between functional object and totemic presence. The warm luminosity of the copper plays against the utilitarian coldness of the plastic connectors, generating a visual tension that mirrors the psychological weight embedded in the title. Otterson's choice of plumbing components was never arbitrary; these are materials associated with the hidden infrastructure of daily life, and by elevating them to the scale of fine art, he invites reflection on what lies beneath the surfaces of domestic existence. Otterson emerged during a pivotal moment in American art when artists were interrogating the boundaries between craft, design, and sculpture, and Emotional Slaughter reflects that broader cultural conversation with considerable sophistication. The work belongs to his early mature period, when his formal vocabulary was already fully realized and his thematic concerns, centering on labor, desire, and the aestheticization of the overlooked, were sharply defined. The verticality of the piece gives it a presence that commands space rather than merely occupying it, and the combination of materials rewards close attention as industrial precision gives way to unexpected elegance. For collectors drawn to work that bridges the material culture of the 1980s with enduring sculptural intelligence, this signed piece represents a rare opportunity to acquire an early example from an artist whose practice has only grown in critical relevance. The work is housed and will ship from Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey, ensuring proper institutional handling for a piece of this scale and historical significance.