Project 1: Process
ARTIST RESEARCH

Tom Friedman, an investigative sculptor, fuses the art world with that of everyday, through his imaginative reordering of images and objects.  His work creates compelling dialogue of concept and process.  
Each of Friedman’s works exemplify his dedication to process, his “playful” (Designboom) sense of humor, and his desire to create an experience for his audience.  He sees relationships between mundane material, household objects, that others may look past, “‘I like the connection to everyday materials, things just sitting around the house’” (Applin).  In one interview, Friedman stated that his ideas come from a physical place, that he imagines concepts as tactile, “‘It’s not so much what the ideas are, but what they look like, and where they are in relation to each other’” (McEwen).  His ability to create beauty, minute detail, and in some cases fantasy, is a testament to his commitment to the concept as much as the aesthetic.

Friedman transforms the toothpick from a mundane state of domesticity to an active sculpture in his creation of an untitled piece in 1995. Through layering and precise placement of the toothpicks, the structure of cylindrical, spiked slivers of wood transforms into an explosive piece of art.  One wonders how Friedman physically created the piece; how the toothpicks stay together, how many toothpicks he used in the piece, or maybe even if he ever poked himself or got a splinter.       

We all know what a toothpick is; we all have a context for its purposes, whether it be for cleaning teeth or polite dining.  Friedman plays on what we know through expanding our conception of the material.  The identity of the toothpick is altered.  What is familiar is no longer reality.  This altered toothpick is crucial to the construction of Friedman’s intriguing work; the contrast of the everyday object, the “digging beneath the surfaces of appearance” (McEwen), is what draws the audience in, what makes this piece so compelling.

When someone first encounters Friedman’s 1990 untitled piece, only one element of the sculpture might be guessed.  Although Friedman is known to create household objects out of material such as styrofoam, a viewer may easily assume the white object represents, or is in actuality, a bar of soap. The other material in the piece may be more difficult to place.  Once a viewer discovers what Friedman used to construct “Untitled,” he or she is probably still curious as to how he manipulated his pubic hair so precisely at such an extent. On the bar of soap, Friedman seems to have, in perfect symmetry, placed his pubic hair in a series of circles.  One larger contains each consecutive circle, and the space between them gradually decreases, until it is almost impossible to see without being in close proximity to the piece. One small circle is left in the center of the bar.

Both of the materials used in this piece have loaded cultural significance.  Soap is understood as clean, pure, good, and even reflective of respectability, to an extent (Huff).  Pubic hair, on the other hand, is culturally tied to sexual taboos.  The topic is not broached in polite conversation.  The construction of this piece speaks volumes to Friedman’s intention.  A clean bar of soap signifies purity, but once even a spec of dirt is on the bar, its whole interpretation is altered.  Friedman does not use dirt; he uses his own pubic hair.  And the incredibly microscopic construction of the pieced illustrates the time and labor Friedman applied when creating this piece.  The detail is incredible for the size of the material; the construction of the work adds a layer of significance.  Friedman’s “attentiveness to detail, keen preference for small scale, and remarkable ability to transform the familiar into the unexpected” (New Museum) plays a leading role in the substance of this piece. 

The combination of soap and pubic hair creates a relationship between cleanliness and sexuality.  Friedman’s structuring of the pubic hair helps his viewers broaden their understanding of the relationship the artist intends.  The circular effect of the pubic hair creates a unity between materials, a marriage in a sense.  No harsh lines are used to divide the space, instead softer circles that draw the eye into the center of the bar, melding soap and pubic hair as one, are applied.    

Four years later, Friedman uses an aspirin tablet as the constructive medium for a self-portrait in his 1994 untitled piece.  The artist carves his face in incredible detail for the scale of the work.  Many concerns come to mind when analyzing this piece, especially concerning Friedman’s intentions in creating it.  The material choice combined with the choice of subject matter is extremely telling, or at least the combination carries significant cultural undertones.  Creating “self” out of a pain reliever gives the audience insight into the artist’s emotional and physical state, and his own concept of self.  The audience may question what relationship the artist has with pain, and a method of relieving pain.  They may wonder why he would share something so intimate so publically.  It is also possible that the audience may interpret Friedman’s “Untitled” as commentary, and not a personalized message.  Perhaps Friedman is commenting on an epidemic in the United States related to the abuse of painkillers and prescription drugs. 
No matter how one interprets this piece, a viewer will have an immediate relationship with this work due to its size and material.  One might consider the question, why did Friedman not create a bust of himself out of hundreds, or thousands of aspirin.

Through each of these three works, Friedman’s technique, material choice, even his personal conception of art, relate to process.  From the minute detail of carving an image of himself into very small, chalky substance, of placing small hairs on a soapy substance, of aligning and layering toothpicks into a structure full of energy, of even staring at a piece of paper for 1,000 hours (Huff), Friedman’s work is an extension of himself.  He puts himself into each piece, and this process of labor combined with his notions of significance creates eye-opening art.

Applin, Jo. "Bric-a-Brac: The Everyday Work of Tom Friedman." Art Journal. 67.1 (2008): 68-81. Web. 29 Jan. 2012.

Huff, T.J.. "Daily Impermanence, Visiting with Conceptual artist Tom Friedman." Arts Editor. ArtsEditor, 2012 . Web. 29 Jan 2012.

McEwen, Adam. "Some Assembly Required, Tom Friedman." Frieze. Frieze , 9/9/2002. Web. 29 Jan 2012.

"Tom Friedman." Designboom. designboom, 2010. Web. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.designboom.com/portrait/friedman.html>. 

"Tom Friedman." New Museum Exhibitions. New Museum , 2/3/2002. Web. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/356/tom_friedman>.

Images
Tom Friedman. Untitled. 1995. Sculpture. Artstor. 29 Jan 2012. <http://library.artstor.org/library/welcome.html>

Tom Friedman. Untitled. 1990. Sculpture. Blogspot. 29 Jan 2012. <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4nIteZVQYGw/S7Dfhcvfz3I/AAAAAAAAAAk/LeT-gX6jMFM/s1600/Tom Friedman soap.jpg>.

Tom Friedman. Untitled. 1994. Sculpture. Blogspot. 29 Jan 2012 <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_e3BsDt7_O88/Sv22auFxRwI/AAAAAAAAoO4/2ExM1qt36qw/s320/479.jpg >

Eva Hesse, an abstract expressionist, created art through experimental use of non-traditional materials.  Her minimalist structures were fantastical, whimsical in form, but industrial in material.  Popular choices for projects might include fiberglass, wire, and polyester resin (ebsco).  Through her art, Hesse explored the relationship between her world and that of the material.  She manipulated these engineered substances and created organic, fluid pieces of art.  Her works create a tension between fighting components, between “chaos and order’ (Tate).  This tension draws the audience into her art.  Repetition, pattern, geometrical forms, the inorganic blends into the organic, and we try to make sense of it—to sort it out.  Hesse once stated about her art, “‘Don’t ask what it means or what it refers to.  Don’t ask what the work is.  Rather, see what the work does’” (Tate).  Her art is created to engage an audience; this is the importance of process.  While the technique and skill in creating her art is impressive, it is the finished product’s relationship with the individual that transforms the piece.  In this, one finds the significant process.  Hesse takes from herself in order to create her art, “‘In my inner soul art and life are inseparable’” (Art Story).  Her use of everyday material instead of acrylic, oil paints, watercolors, etc, is a testament to this belief.

Hesse’s piece, Right After, 1969, created from polyester resin and fiberglass, hangs from wires attached to ceiling beams.  This piece creates a fantastical web of white above the viewers’ heads.  Through Hesse’s manipulation, a weightless feel is given to industrial material.  Organic shapes; variations of low hanging, crossed-over, and peaked material, give the work a natural sensation, a feel of fluidity.  The same variations also create a dialogue of action, especially concerning concepts of space and size.

While the room is integral in how the audience interprets the work, this piece also completely transforms the space. The space is now divided by the floating art.  It is no longer a large, empty room, but a space of trepidation.  The audience is able to interact with the piece, but its size and looming appearance is somewhat unnerving.

To create an experience between audience and art, to create a transformative space, to have audience reflect, to plays an active role in the room; these are all intentions of Hesse’s whenever she creates art.  She wishes for her audience to have a relationship with her art. Hesse investigates the properties of industrial material (Art Story).  She creates her artwork through observations of how these materials function.  The separation of life from art is an unfamiliar concept, so I am sure she would now desire to create a divide between someone’s experience of her art and that individual’s life (Artforum).  To provide a space for others to reflect on their lives through her art, her pieces acting as catalysts, may be her deepest intention.  This concern is met through the exploration of the complementary yet contrary: her use of both organic, natural forms and the more geometrical, linear, ordered forms.

Hesse’s piece Schema, 1967-1968, presents the viewer with an ordered and constrained piece.  144 small spheres made out of latex, laid out in a 12 by 12 fashion, are representative of Hesse’s admiration for repetition (Tate).  Each spherical piece is seemingly evenly spaced apart, and each is practically identical.

The amount of labor spent creating this structure is a testament to Hesse’s ideal that life and art are one in the same, as well as her investment in the process of creating art.  Creating 144 of nearly identical elements to a piece of art is dedication and passion to the craft.  Her choice of latex as the operative material in the piece demonstrates her comprehension and skill in the relationship between material and form.  The organic shape of the spheres contrasts with the extreme repetition and non-organic repetition, all purposeful on Hesse’s part.  A viewer should be active, for this is a main defining component of Hesse’s comprehension of art.  She does not desire one to question why she chose latex, why 144, why spheres, but to be open to what these elements of the piece do to one when experiencing the piece (Art Story).

In Hesse’s piece, Repetition Nineteen III, 1968, translucent fiberglass and polyester resin tubular pieces, nineteen originally, are placed on the floor.  Their forms, organically suggestive and basically identical in concept, each have their own set of impurities—one may tilt slightly to the left, another might bend to the right, while a third may have a slight indentation at its base (Tanner).  These imperfections give each cylindrical form its own identity.  Hesse’s appreciation for repetition is apparent in this piece.  Although not as blatantly stated as that of other works, the basic form is exaggerated through multiplication in Repetition Nineteen III.

According to Hesse, her art is only art because she creates what is “in the process of being transformed” (Tate).  The industrial material she manipulates transforms physically through her hands, and once again when it is set in front of an audience.  Because Hesse’s work straddles the line of organic and industrial, because she uses non-idealized forms, the audience attempts to interpret her art through herself, to make sense of it.  Her art becomes personal, human; a reflection of life and reality.

"Eva Hesse." The Art Story. The Art Story, 2012. Web. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.theartstory.org/artist-hesse-eva.htm>.

"An Interview with Eva Hesse." Artforum . (1970): n. page. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. <http://cloud.hauserwirth.com/documents/y1ctXlJCqjk1Q3aKF0qZ1436rapbm40Mj5l59e6Jv456vnXepI/artforum-may-1970-1fGl6I.pdf>.

"Minimalism with a Human Face." Tate Magazine. Tate Museum, n.d. Web. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue2/hesse.htm>.

Tanner, Marcia. "It Is Something, It Is Nothing: The "non-work" of Eva Hesse." Stretcher. Tate Museum, 2002. Web. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.stretcher.org/features/eva_hesse/>.

images
"An Interview with Eva Hesse." Artforum . (1970): n. page. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. <http://cloud.hauserwirth.com/documents/y1ctXlJCqjk1Q3aKF0qZ1436rapbm40Mj5l59e6Jv456vnXepI/artforum-may-1970-1fGl6I.pdf>. (Right After)

"An Interview with Eva Hesse." Artforum . (1970): n. page. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. <http://cloud.hauserwirth.com/documents/y1ctXlJCqjk1Q3aKF0qZ1436rapbm40Mj5l59e6Jv456vnXepI/artforum-may-1970-1fGl6I.pdf>. (Repetition Nineteen III)

Eva Hesse. Schema. 1968. Sculpture. Zeek, A Jewish Journal of Thought and CultureWeb. 29 Jan 2012. <http://www.zeek.net/608hesse/index.php?page=2>. (Schema)