Thursday, September 26, 2019

kiki smith

I marvel at Kiki Smith's ability to portray both great sadness and awe.

She is bold.
woman on barge
Her evocative figures - always females - are so exposed.
Arms open.

I feel that many of them are about mothering
nurturing, protecting

and about feeling vulnerable.
I have no idea how to apply these emotions and ideas to my own work,
but I want to.
constellation 2007
 she uses the floor
she makes visual her concerns
her work makes me ask myself
'what are my concerns? '
girl and white blankets
Every day I do the same things.
I cook dinner and worry.
flight mound
In 1997 she made a floor installation entitled flight mound from 68 quilted blankets.

the material reality instructs us - Gaston Bachelard

night
(text from 2014 journal, images from google search) 
here's an earlier post about Kiki from 2012

6 comments:

kat said...

What interesting and beautiful work. I am still examining the reasons that I am drawn to being creative, and often ask myself that question "why", which is not the same as the more functional "but what is it for" which always rather annoys me. I suspect it will be many years, if ever, before I come to a conclusion. Meanwhile I just keep on trying, and keep coming to places like yours for inspiration and to provoke just those sort of questions. Thank you for being here x

Mo Crow said...

"the good thing about being an artist is the work has to go away!" Kiki Smith from an interview back in 2012

raz nev said...

thank you for showing and reflecting about kiki's work and yours. always inspiring.

June C said...

I admire art makers who do not fret about the archival quality of their work.

Olga Norris said...

https://a-place-called-space.blogspot.com/2019/09/kiki-smith-memory.html?showComment=1569760831713#c5422186149552918695

I love coincidence.

Judy Martin said...

wow , thank you for that link xo