Eva Hesse

Eva Hesse : 

Eva Hesse

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Eva Hesse (1936-1970) In 1964, Hesse began using industrial materials in sculpture that rejected the (more masculine) geometric and architectural ambitions of minimalism. Minimalist

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Features of Minimalism Works are non-figurative, containing no symbolic or representational meaning. A work is treated solely as a work of art –existing solely for itself. Works are reliant on simple, often geometric forms, and in painting, there is a reliance on monochromatic surfaces devoid of intricate brush marking. Sculptures are technically precise and well executed. The ‘mark’ or hand of the artist is often not visible, as in machine made artefacts.

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Hesse, EvaHang Up1966Acrylic on cord and cloth, wood, and steel182 x 213 x 198 cmThe Art Institute of Chicago

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Description: A wooden frame hanging on a wall –wrapped neatly and obsessively with chord. Out of it, a thin metal tube bent into a free-formed curved loop, juts ten feet into the room. Two reasons why Hang up is innovative: It refuses to declare its meaning or to locate an inner truth. –a self contained object. The line which registers the mark of the artist is drawn in space, not captured permanently on a surface. Hesse, Eva, Hang Up, 1966, Acrylic on cord and cloth, wood, and steel

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A FLESHY METAPHOR? Both tube and frame are wrapped in cloth, The Frame looks like a hospital bandaged organism. The tube might be circulating some sort of fluid. Even in absence, the body is somehow there, as an ironically suffering presence. Hang Up, 1966, Acrylic on cord and cloth, wood, and steel

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Donald JuddUntitled, 1966/68. Stainless steel and plexiglass, in six parts. Boldly reductive and geometric, Judd’s sculpture relies as well on modern machined materials and on the very literal adoption of serial repetition.

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Hesse, EvaOne More than One1967Wood, plastic, papier-mache, cord, and acrylicBox: 8 x 15 x 5 in. (20.3 x 38.1 x 12.7 cm)Work hung 5' 5" from floor with cords extending to and beyond floor

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Accession II, 1967. Galvanised steel and plastic extrusion.

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Repetition Nineteen III. 1968. Fibreglass and polyester resin, nineteen units, Each 48 to 51 cm x 27.8 to 32.2 cm in diameter.

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Seven Poles, 1970, Fibreglass over polyethylene over aluminium wire.

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Donald Judd untitled 1969/1982 Anodized aluminum

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Subtle, yet erotically charged pieces. Reference the body metaphorically rather than literally. A facination with the ‘female’ and the inward. Empty containers of Repitition Nineteen III. Accession –interior bristling with soft projections. A phallic mockery in her work which is comically obsene. –Seven poles. In comparison to other Minimalists; more irregular when exploring repetition, her work is often more humble in scale and her use of materials less technocratic –non mechanical minimalism. Accession II, 1967. Ringaround Arosie, 1965. Repetition Nineteen III. 1968. Seven Poles, 1970.

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Her work IN A NUTSHELL! Hesse humanized minimalism. She described her subject as ´the total absurdity of life´. Indeed, one of the chief characteristics of her work is a vein of subtle humour evidenced in the quirky fetishism and playful repetitions of her later sculpture.

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Placing Hesse into Women’s Art. Considered by feminist artists to be a forerunner of feminism. Although she did not consider herself a feminist, she was acutely aware of the contradictions between her commitment to her art and the social expectations demanded by women. “I cannot be something for everyone… woman, beautiful, artist, wife, housekeeper, cook, saleslady, all these things.” Never wanted her work categorised as ‘women’s art’. She wanted it to join the discourse of Modern images, uncramped by niches of gender or race. “The best way to beat discrimination in art is by art. Excellence has no sex.”