I love the title of his show! workworkworkworkwork
There are no spaces between the words, leaving no room for rest. I am pretty sure I saw the title in all lower case at some point and with a capitalized 'W' as well... I like the lower case version: it makes the work less important and, therefore, feel more redundant.
It was a fantastic and charming show. I use the word charming probably because of the smallness of all the objects.... All the objects were well made and smaller in scale than their human counterparts. All clothing was made by the artist and many of the clothes were probably in a scale slightly smaller than that of a little girl's baby doll or as small as a Barbie or Ken doll. Other objects were delicately carved of human bone - doll house scale. The tiny pottery that was thrown on a wheel (made traditionally somehow) was also in doll house scale.
Thoughts on the show:
1. (Well made) small objects create a feeling of tenderness in the viewer - just me? I don't think so... I think there is something human about being moved by small clothing. Its like a child's clothing and speaks to a vulnerability of sorts...it also makes the viewer aware of their own size as they lord over the small clothing...
2. While viewing the show, it occurred to me that LeDray was talking about humans and society through clothing and iconography (patches sewn onto handsewn denim pieces).
3. I wondered why he only went small. Wanting to change the size of the sculptures simply to make them obviously handmade is one thing --- but I am wondering about his choice to only go smaller...and how did he choose his particular chosen sizes?
4. I liked the purposeful, well-crafted wear and tear on the carpets, clothes, and drop ceilings in the sculptures ...including dust(!) that was obviously purposeful (based on its size and perfect placement) as it was balled into corners of the top of the drop ceiling. Carpet was worn down in a recognizable way - i've seen shoddy carpet like that before in some second hand shop in some small town!
5. Multiplicity: There are many, many little clothes...each hand made, each well made, with different patterns, colors, cuts. He would make an entire rack of men's clothing in miniature size - perfectly and exactly as it would be seen on Main street. If he only made one or a few....that is one thing....but there is an obsession here(?) - which many admire and marvel at - just for that.
From Wikipedia:
"LeDray has been described as “the best-kept secret of the contemporary art world, labouring away for years before completing a sculpture.”[3] He does not often discuss the meaning of his work, leaving pieces open to interpretation. According to Alan Artner of the Chicago Tribune, “at a time when contemporary art is often wholly dependent on words, the silent, apparently simple but persistently elusive work of LeDray is akin to a blessing.”[4] LeDray is perhaps best known for his small, though correctly proportioned sculptures of everyday objects, which "refrain from feeling precious or adorable.” [5]"
My thoughts:
It's funny. I used to be so cool with words...with describing my own work. I do get into theory and the conceptual end of work at times - I am not uncomfortable with it. Yet the wiki words above give me a feeling of relief. I think that maybe that is because I am having a hard time feeling out the conceptual side of my work and trajectory right now... plus there are things that i don't really want to say in words --- maybe some things are unspeakable and can only be 'heard' in other languages.
From wbur.org "The Power of Tiny" for ICA version of the same show as at Whitney:
"....“Mens Suits” is a pint-sized second-hand clothing shop in a human-sized art gallery. The little store’s three rooms are only about about shin-high. The colorful, textured garments — little button down shirts and jackets suspended from minute hangers — might fit a Ken doll, or maybe G.I. Joe.
The suits evoke the memories and associations we have with the beloved, well-worn fabrics we wear day in, day out, close against our skin. But again, they’re so small, displayed on racks right up against the miniature used clothing of imagined strangers.
Seeing the work from above creates a curious response in the viewer, as curator Hopkins explained it. “Suddenly towering over things gives a strange new position in relation to them, so that we can scrutinize them and imagine exerting a new kind of control over them,” Hopkins said....
And that’s the fun of it reflecting on the “power of tiny,” as Hopkins puts it. “(Little things) seemingly harmless in scale activate our imagination in an immediate way we know from childhood, drawing us in,” Hopkins said.
But it should be pointed out that artist LeDray’s vast body of work is too rich with humanity to be viewed as simply adorable. It conjures the passing of time, and even our own identities.
Also, there’s a touch of the macabre in LeDray’s aesthetic that perhaps might temper viewers from gushing too wistfully over his lovely little works. Some of his miniature sculptures are made of hand-carved human bone. A ladder, a chair, a door — and even that little model of the solar system."
No comments:
Post a Comment