July 9, 2010

Up Down

Up Down, 4 pieces: 4 x 4, 4 x 10, 4 x 15, 4 x 14 inches


Here is the new ruglet Up Down installed in the studio. The light in this photo of the work makes it look as though the pieces are floating in space rather than placed against the wall. My intention was to have the two outer pieces sink toward the floor, using darker colors at the bottom; the lighter color at the lower end of the center bar is meant to heighten an effect of floating upwards. And the small square is an exclamation point. I don't know if this reads the way I intended, but at any rate I enjoyed using a different architectural element––the floor––which allows for a new way of seeing a composition, and a new energy where one plane meets another. I'd like to try more using the floor in future, along with, perhaps, the edges of walls or where two walls meet.

Below is Up Down where it is hanging below a group of 12 x 12 inch panel paintings. You can see that it is quite small in relation to not-large paintings, so demands a different kind of attention.


5 comments:

  1. I'm really glad you included the 'in context' shot of this- otherwise it's hard to get how it feels - the scale, the positioning. to me, there is something very humorous about this ensemble, and the little square read as the dot of an exclamation point before I read your description. I like the gravity references a lot - there's a lively jumping energy here. I also love seeing the paintings above - what a terrific group.

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  2. thanks so much, rappel. It's good to know that some of my intention comes across. I hadn't thought of humor, but that's something I'm always happy to have in my work.

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  3. The grouping made me think of cars driving up a ramp into a city.

    On the ruglets touching the floor, I think I would have liked to see a bit more color contrast from bottom to top. Love the idea of using the floor as a design element.

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  4. I too am intrigued by the idea of using the floor as a design element. In landscape design, of course, the ground is always a prominent element, but sometimes I think people aren't conscious of it with actual ground (as opposed to ground level features like patios or rills).

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  5. hmm, A., you might be right about more contrast, though the method I used for dyeing, spot dyeing, doesn't allow a light to dark transition easily; that's why it's rather subtle.

    Another interesting thing about the floor is that hooking is generally used for rugs that lie on the floor, so this is making a small gesture towards that. As for ground in landscape, Julie, I imagine that people aren't conscious of much in their everyday surroundings unless their attention is drawn to it, as you say with patios or rills.

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