Thursday, December 10, 2009

Run Home, Home Run





James Koch
Run Home, Home Run, 2009. Dead ladybugs, dead flies, beef blood, and Gorilla Glue on Wooden baseball bat.
For this piece, i was interested in exploring Transgression.

1 comment:

  1. Run-Home, Home-Run creates continuity through the monochromatic use of dark and light reds, alternating with the stripes of dirty white tape. The stark contrast between the red blood in the white plate continues this color scheme, and the splatters against the otherwise clean porcelain create a very organic texture, recognizable as the elegance of spreading liquid. The blood intensifies the tension between the strong red and white color scheme, as it seeps into the clean white plate and previously sterile tape. The broad end of the bat serves as a base, creating a stability that is hard to create with tall, thin sculpture. The plate increases this stability as a flat, round base. The ladybugs are another round feature, creating a studded texture on the smooth, vertical bat and adding more continuity throughout the piece, allowing the eye to crawl up and down the bat, as the ladybugs appear to be frozen doing.
    Material choice is definitive in this piece, transgressing the realms of traditional art supplies. The use of dead insects and blood makes this piece temporal and multi-sensational. The bugs will eventually decompose, and the blood will eventually emit an offensive odor. As time goes on, the piece will transgress artistic and hygienic norms even more. Run-Home, Home-Run transgresses the comfort of the viewer, presenting an intense combination of blood, death and aggression. The use of ladybugs is a contradiction of these obvious violent connotations, as ladybugs are traditionally represented as garden protectors, or else just cute little bugs. The title represents these two sides of the piece. Run-Home indicates an attempt to get away from something fearful and dangerous, while Home-Run comments on the original, innocent intention of the bat as a game piece. This piece transgresses artistic norms, especially through material, while establishing a humorous interplay between innocence and aggression.

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