Sculptures, Canvases, and Perspective. . . oh my!

I was very impressed by the Ruth Asawa exhibit. I was very fascinated with how different the exhibit looks by looking at it from one angle, but when you take another step, the art looks completely different. I noticed this with the collection of hanging sculptures in the center of main room. I observed the sculptures one way from one part of the room, but with just one step I was looking at a completely different piece of art and interpreting it in a whole new way. In addition, taking pictures from the base of the sculptures made it feel like I was encased within the sculptures, and thus I was further immersed in the art work. In addition, I was fascinated to learn that Asawa worked with a professional dancer, the way the wires of her work all intertwined reminded me of the rhythmic movement observed in dancing.  I wonder how different her art would have worked had she not worked so closely with a dancer. 

One of my favorite works was an larger, untitled sculpture done in 1967. I am fascinated by this work because in the center it appears to be a Star of David, and it is framed by wire that mimics branches of a tree. At first, I was confused because I did not recall reading that Asawa was Jewish and was curious as to why she would choose to incorporate the Jewish star in her work. However, Asawa does this to make  a political statement about how both the Japanese and Jewish people were forced into camps because of racism. Even though these two events happened at different times and in different countries , Asawa is trying to send the message of unity, in that we are all human. In no battle is anyone alone because every group has face prejudice at some point or another. Also, Asawa sends a message that this prejudice is not okay, and that forcing a certain race into a camp is unacceptable and completely violates what it means to be a human being. 

Another piece of art that I enjoyed was a  smaller canvas piece by Asawa. Although it may not have been her intent, it almost looked like  a papier-mâché sculpture she made had been smushed onto a canvas.  I then started to look at the rest of her exhibit differently and started to think about what if all of her sculptures had been smushed onto a canvas and how intricate and ornate they would still appear, and how these smushed works would bring a whole new meaning to Asawa’s art . This specific piece was also untitled and was made between the years of 1948 and 1949. The letters , B, M, and  C are jumbled all over the canvas in many ways, yet it still maintains a geometric structure . While, I am not sure what the message of this work is,  it definitely caught my attention. Notably, many of Asawa’s canvas pieces are very geometric and thus pleasing to the eye. These canvas pieces,  combined with her sculptures,  make it very clear that Asawa was an individual obsessed with shapes.