Just for a laugh!

Esther Solondz

Long time no blog. I apologize, and promise to do better! I was in Boston this weekend and went to Gallery Naga for the Esther Solondz show of these wonderful sculptures. They are made of silicone poured and dipped onto  and into  cage-like and jellyfish-like structures. When I entered the gallery I thought they were glass. They are so sparkly under the lights. They look very delicate, but then was told they are rubber, and it added a whole new dimension  to  the way I approached them. I felt their delicacy and their strength. This artist has worked with many simple things, like salt and rust. She is interested in how materials like these are transformed over time. Website here.

Ruth Asawa

Ruth Asawa is such an icon of American art that perhaps nothing new can be said about her. But I like this YouTube video because it shows how much she loves making art, and experimenting with such humility, and with no regard for anything but process. I've been asking myself lately what inspires me. I've heard more than one artist detest this word, inspire, but I like it. To me it means to bring in fresh air. I need that, especially in the form of artists who are deeply involved in making art for what it does for their inner life and what it can offer as enrichment to others. It's the opposite of trying to deliver a specific message. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I particularly like Asawa's crocheted wire sculpture, for which she is probably best known. I found some works I'd never seen before on this blog, and then went over to her website here. Asawa learned crochet in Mexico in the 50's. She also studied at Black Mountain College with Josef Albers among others. I want to do more research on Black Mountain, because something incredible was happening there back in those days.