koontz 1

Comment

Comment by Leah Koontz on October 21, 2012 at 11:25am

Thank you! That means a lot to me. I love Eva Hesse's work, I was looking at her a lot when I made this. I also do a lot of work looking at gender roles and organic shapes so it is interesting that you sensed that coming out in this piece. I definitely wanted to get restriction to come across as well. I appreciated the comment!

Comment by Resident Curator on October 20, 2012 at 9:25am

Curator’s Comment:  

 

This is a great piece.  At first inspection the sparse installations are reiminscent of Eva Hesse’s tubular constructions in latex.  The proscribed duality of the two objects, mounted at slightly different heights sets up a paired, dichotomous relationship.  It conjures the male and female, despite the analogous sculpting of the not quite circular voids. The irregular openings also help present the structures as organic entities, embodying a human presence in their sinuous taut form.  Alternately, I sense fragility in the ropes.  While the linear tension visually supports the weight of the sculptures, it also suggests limitation and restriction.  Movement is impaired in tethering. Reading your comment about the work contextualizes the manipulated found objects, layering the formal dynamic of the piece with social and emotional content. It’s impressive that the work can retain its economic strength while serving these very specific agendas.