Eliza Mutino
Untitled, 2009. Fish tank on fan with cheesecloth, Sharpie paint pen, dried paint pieces and goose feather. Fan is supported by cheescloth covered 4"x 1" wooden blocks. Sticky tac is used as an adhesive between the sides of the tank and the cheese cloth.
For this piece, I was drawn to the concept of transience, and inspired by the film American Beauty and the quote "...Don't lose hope, no condition is permanent..."
What is perhaps most immediate and successful about this piece is the experience of transience that it gives the viewer, first of all through its construction. Relatively few materials were combined in a simple manner without adhesive or other binding substances. The blowing of the fan and use of light materials like cheesecloth, dried paint pieces, and the goose feather are part of this light construction. However, the bottom half of the work is comprised solely of a small metal fan placed horizontally. The repetition of parallel lines that comprise the outer contours of the fan recall order and even an industrial feel. Thus, part of Eliza’s piece is a duality between structure and the organic, order and freedom. Rather than standing in opposition to one another, the two dualistically feed into each other; though the fan is mechanical in nature, it also creates a tranquil whirring sound, air movement that the observer of the piece can feel, and the natural movement of the paint pieces, feather, and cheesecloth. Additionally, the convergence of the fans ordered outer contours into a circle gives the piece another organic characteristic. This circularity, and so, radial symmetry, of the work, gives it a large amount of approachability and unity.
ReplyDeleteThis duality of structure and function is also echoed in the use of space and color in the work. Though in an enclosure, the fish tank simultaneously projects openness and freedom through space and transparency. The paint pieces and the feather are the only colored objects used, and are offset by the transparent fish tank, the metallic fan, the neutral cheesecloth, and the black quote written on the tank. Any analysis of the piece would be incomplete without consideration of this last element. “…Don’t lose hope, no condition is permanent”: despite structure and limitations, freedom and the possibility of change always exists. The objects inside the fish tank are subjects of perpetual motion, and so provide the piece with endless configurations. Such random movement articulates perfectly with the theme of transience on which the work is based.