Showing posts with label Eva Hesse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eva Hesse. Show all posts

Friday, January 18, 2013

Doubt

Some lovely coincidences this week. Found this beautiful work of Eva Hesse that I had never seen before, done in 1966. Then another work of hers appeared. Again, I don't have the title but it was done about the same time. She has been an inspiration to me since I first found her work in the late '60, but the work I was familiar with were her sculptures and I hadn't realized that she was also a painter;  and a great friend with Sol LeWitt. [Link here] She was also an artist for whom self-doubt was a persistent challenge.

Eva Hesse

Eva Hesse

There has been a lot of self doubt about this past while, as I wonder what am I doing with charcoal, and while it never goes away completely, I know after all these years that the voice softens, then whispers, then fades away. Until the next time. Meanwhile this is great advice  to read.

"Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping,…Stop it and just DO!…
Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you – draw & paint your fear and anxiety…
You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO!…
Try to do some BAD work – the worst you can think of and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell – you are not responsible for the world – you are only responsible for your work – so DO IT. And don’t think that your work has to conform to any preconceived form, idea or flavor. It can be anything you want it to be…
I know that you (or anyone) can only work so much and the rest of the time you are left with your thoughts. But when you work or before your work you have to empty you [sic] mind and concentrate on what you are doing. After you do something it is done and that’s that. After a while you can see some are better than others but also you can see what direction you are going. I’m sure you know all that. You also must know that you don’t have to justify your work – not even to yourself."

A letter from Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse

Thursday, September 23, 2010

At The AGO

Saw the Eva Hesse, Agnes Martin and Betty Goodwin show at the AGO on Tuesday. The Martin paintings are gorgous; so quiet, you feel yourself sinking down into them. The Hesse portion of the exhibit has a wonderful room with studio works', maquettes of bigger work and /or ideas she was working with in the studio. While the Goodwin area has a few large works, one of the tarps, 2 large drawings and 4 long vitrines of her notebooks. The notebooks are fascinating as they cover her work from the 60's to 2004. There is also a area to watch videos of each artist.
windows at the AGO

windows at the AGO
windows at the AGO