Eva Hesse

In a catalogue statement for Contingent (1969), Eva Hesse wrote:

“I remember I wanted to get to non art, non connotive,
non anthropomorphic, non geometric, non, nothing,
everything, but of another kind, vision, sort.
from a total other reference point. is it possible?
I have learned anything is possible. I know that.
that vision or concept will come through total risk,
freedom, discipline.
I will do it.”

Part of Eva Hesse’s quote says that she wanted to get to “non art”. She did not consider her art to fit into any one category. She used different media, (from pencil and paint to latex and fiberglass) to solve her artistic problems. As a side note, in this way, I think my work is similar to that of Eva Hesse. Throughout my artistic career, I have been asked what medium I work in, and most people expect an answer like “I’m a painter.” I usually respond with “I do a little bit of everything,” or I just say whatever medium I have been working on most recently. Getting to know an artist like Hesse was helpful and validating to me because she blurs the line between 2D and 3D and between painting and drawing. “Non art” means you can't really categorize or put limits on her work.

I now know what Eva means by “I remember I was trying to get to non-art…” I did not understand the concept of non-art when I first read the statement. I thought non-art might have meant meaningless art. On the contrary, I found that Hesse’s work does have meaning. She says, “I don't value the totality of the image on these abstract or aesthetic points. For me, it's a total image that has to do with me and life... This is where art and life come together."

The quote was about her piece, Contingent from 1969. This is an excellent example of what she means by “non-art”. (If it is not painting, and it is not sculpture, then what is it?) She says, “A lot of my sculpture could be called painting. That piece Contingent I did at Finch College could be called a painting or a sculpture. It is really hung painting in another material than painting.”

I still fully believe in Eva Hesse’s statement that “Anything is possible.” I have done some research regarding seemingly impossible events being possible. Like how you might think it is impossible to smoke one hundred and ten cigarettes at once. Or you might think it is impossible to buy your first new car one day and total it the next day. Or you might think it is impossible for your friend to be diagnosed with leukemia and have that friend pass away before his twenty second birthday. All these things are possible. See the next entry for more truly impossible-sounding-possible-events in Eva's life.

So why Eva? Not only did I want to show my readers a great example of writing about art, I also wanted to highlight the fact that sometimes artists write for press to promote a show they are in. Artists have shows every and again, and shows have literature to accompany the work in order to promote, clarify, or explain what is being shown. Sometimes the artist contributes this writing, like in Eva's case, and sometimes a curator, critic, or other art expert will do the writing. Either way, this is an important reason to write an artist statement.


All quotes are from A Conversation with Cindy Nemser, see:
http://books.google.com/books?id=_8wK9C5g-2gC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=A+Conversation+with+Cindy+Nemser&source=bl&ots=3oXgeJpSlc&sig=sfpnVAfgyrEZ8RjTXttvqZU12FI&hl=en&ei=zqPXS97DE8OAlAeWydD7Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=A%20Conversation%20with%20Cindy%20Nemser&f=false

More information about Eva Hesse can be found at http://www.evahesse.com/