Alex Nikazmerad "My Little Red Hat" 2010. Fabric, red and white thread, white acrylic, cardboard brim. 8" x 5" x 3"
This piece explored the concept of regression, specifically through replication.
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grinnell college visual art
Molly Rottman
ReplyDeleteIn Alex Nikazmerad’s piece, My Little Red Hat, she explores the concept of Regression by first examining a real hat she possessed as a young girl and then recreating the hat by first sewing it into a functional piece of headwear and then decorating it with embroidered and painted white stars. To make this piece, Alex utilized red fabric, white string, white paint, a red button, and cardboard. To supplement the hat, the piece sat with a picture of the artist herself when she was seven-years-old (and wearing the original hat which the art was based on), as well as a reproduction of a note Alex would have written when she was young.
The form of the hat itself is well constructed, although if the artist was attempting to duplicate the original hat, the scale is off as the hat is too large for a child’s head. However, if Alex was attempting to recreate the hat on a scale appropriate for an adult, then the sizing would be more realistic and effective. The shape of the hat itself is well made and from a three-dimensional perspective, the hat itself is interesting and recognizable from all angles. In thinking about the work, Alex may want to think about how she could have made either the hat or this possible installation more abstract as the piece itself stands to be very literal.
While the hat, note, and photo are well unified and stand as a logical grouping, the piece seems almost too obvious. The story is very clear and coherent, and it is very clear how it translates into the concept of regression, but it seems as if it is trying to hard. Furthermore, for the reproduction of the note to be slightly believable, the artist should have left off the definitions of regression, since I highly doubt a seven-year-old would have this in their own letter. Overall, while this piece is technically executed well and tells a clear, detailed story, I believe My Little Red Hat could truly grow if it was thought about by the artist in a more abstract way.