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i1.rt
by
Judith Simonian
The abstract of Judith Simonian is approved:
California State University, Northridge
May, 1974
ii
TABLE OF CO 1\fTEN'l'S
SOHE DATA INI<'OHNJ:NG JYIY vlOH.K.
DEVIj;LQP~'JEN'l~
IV'.t.ArrERI.ALS l'..ND
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CONCLUSION •• ,
PLATES ~
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ABS'rRAC'l'
I<'J~.'I'
T'AINriNG
~·
cusrroN UPHCLS1'El1ED
Jud.t th Silnonlan
rria.ster of Arts in Art
.June~
S~flA'J ENEN'.r
1
1974
OF PURPOSE
The int6nt:'i.o:n. of tr1.is paper is t;o o1:.:'lrify
pulse, behind my art i.n hope c/f
crE~t:..J.ting
t~he
im-
a more i:rrtlmgte
eontact: bet;;..ree:n my wox:·l<.: aiJ.d. 1ts audienee.
·SOt'rE DA'J:A INFOHN.ING HY WOHK
A dof:l..nit:l.on o1'' sculptu.re by Acl R.ei:nhardt: "Some-.
thin,;:: you bur::tp into
~1lv.:m
you back
1.1p
to J.ook at a
paint·~
i ng ~" .1
So \'<Then I backed. up into one of my "paintings", I
discovereu tba.t
not~
orily could 1 t be e:;xperienced. visually,
but w:t th its soft p:r-otuberances into real :tat her than
Thus ensued the task of freeing myself of the preconcept;lon that rlgid boundarj_es still exist between
1. Ad Heh;.h~.l:rtlt, as quoted 1.n I".laurice 'I'uchman, ed.,
American
Sculpture --==-of The
Sixties, . p.J1,
...... _..,.,
-·
-~-
~-~---
-....-...~-·
1
painting and. sculpture and that I must
determlne~
once
and fen:- all, into which category my work (haYing elements
ln comrnon
member a
111 t.h.
painting and sct.llpture) belonged
co:m:m~::~:nt
3
I re-
made by Lucy Llppa.rd at an .informal dis=
cussion at the \.Joman·1 s Building in Los Angeles, on the inm•
justice
C.~one
to al."t audienc;es by excessive styl:tstic
gorizing of grt by
crittcs~
cate~
Being told what to see, the
vievrer' B respor;.se :ls gua:eded and his
is actu.a11;y- before him is limited.
abilit~y
to see r•.rhat
A simllar injustice .ts
nerpet;r·ated against the artist 1·.:-hen media or stylistic
limitat:lons (other tr1an his own) are imposed on his work.
The evol-ving state of my work from more
concerns to
tho~Je
pa.inte:?.~1y
of the sculptor has relnforced my feel-
ing that the medi u.m ls only a -.rehicle to arrive at a
statement and not necessarily the nessage itself.
Ulti-
:mately, me,king art mea:ns rellnqu:i.shing claim to enticing
teehnlques to be perfected and mater:tals to be explored
for the5.-.t' own sake, in order to connect with only those
that can faci1ltate an arrival at a meaningful personal
st;a.tement fo-:c the arttst.
If the message is to last, it
can :never be subjugated to the medium.
Ny stuffed wall pieces, ba.sed on what the shape
con:figu:rations do, i.e.,fold, tuck, twist, compress,
seemed to develope gradually and nat;uxally.
The soft
forms are divested of e.ny pretense to permanance or solidi ty while they unavoidably evoke the human, no matter hoi<~
I
dlsg;;Js(;;d
(U'
n.bstract they become.
~vhile
I am necessarily
conee:t':nc<J. t.·:l th human forms and mysterlous physiological
phenomm:.a, !ilY approach has been to approximate the sexisory 11
emotional way 1'\re reeei Ye
experienc~e,
worldng first on. the
sensation then slo-vily back to the fact to more closely
reveal my personal reality.
AssembJ.ed on tht:": basis of hints of· resemblances,
the infle.ted forms in;rol ve metaphor in that tbey ims.g:J.ne
or suggest re1atj.or1shlps and correspo:nde:nces that tencl to
elicit a sensous response.
I acknowledge the influence in
my '\'Wrk of observed relationships betv1een furni tu:re,
er man-made things, art<i anatomy.
o th-
li'urnl tu1:..e t which is
made in our image is an exte:nslon of the human form.
The
tr;m come together often in a humorous way in terms of the
vray mounds of substances struggle to occupy the same spaee
on their way to becomlng a whole unit.
lVIl\.TERIALS Atl"TT DEVELOPI1ENT
1,o give concrete expression to my 1deas I needed
a material tha.t provided resiste.nce and firmness under
thin. coveri.ngs but malleable enough to be manipulated exi;ernally under the pressure of my hand.
The e.bili ty to physically altar the shape easily
from the outside ttras ,s. built-in flexibility that I 11ranted
---to allow for changes to be made quickly as new choices
occurred to me during the process of making each piece.
.
I meant to prevent the possj,bility ·of falling i:nto a
self·-designed trap that results w-hen the work is too preconceived in its final form.
Ny materials, vary s1i.ghtly f·rom cm.e pieee to an-
other, but
primarily~
bulk of the forms.
fo.am rubber is used. for the maln
rhe shapes are modtfied by fiberglass
1
insulation, cotton., polye:ster ftber £'1.nd other Iightweight ~
resiliant mate:ri.a.ls then coYered. with :f'al;r:i.c or foam :rubber cloth chosen for its evoc.::-:tive cht:!.::raeter and its ability to accept dyes or other colorants.
F'abr1.c used in the context of
as s. second skln.
(~lothing,
func tio:ns
Like the strong cellular st:ructure of
ski11., it contains and protects.
Der;ending on its trans-
p.;.r,r(; ncy .and the condition of f'c·rms :i. t c.ontains 1 t
~Jill
partially reveL"'l.l or ftllude t.o tb.e pr::. vate internal structure.
For these reason.s fabric seem<';d to be a:n app:rop-
riate medium to embody my ideas.
The degree of light penet:re.tion through the cJ.oth
depends not on.ly on the density of the t1eave but is also
a natural conseql.H')nce of the way it is stretched over
forms.
\{hen it floats over a void, only touching foam
rubber in plac.es t it is inte:rmi ttently translucent and
opaque, just a;:; the more tightly lt is stretched the more
it reveals colors and textures
underneath~
In the earliest pieces I conscientiously attempted
to maintain a surface/form separation by creating an
active colored exterior.
came more
anceG
important~
As the combining of forms be-
surface and form competed for domin=
The need to s:i•;;.n11fy surface was evident,
In
f:tg~
ure 3 the begirming of a fusion of surface and sub-surface was attempted but realized more completely in figure,
4.
Here, the amount of color emanating from inside more
than equalled. that applied externally.
The result v-ras a
simultaneous experienciP..g of st:rrface and interior.
'rhe other extreme is embodied 1.n fJ.gt.lre 6 9 .N.hBre
rubber clcith obscures entirely a viei-v of the understructtlre.
I impressed her:3.ted wire grids to mark the
hydep·l.H~e
rubber cloth with random, partially worn al'lay patterns.
When rolled up
wit~h
printing ink, any srreface activity or
lrregu1ari ty, including impress lens .r:r.!B-de with a hand or
folding, was recorded.
My most recent work relies almost entirely or1 the
natural color of the materials used, l<Thlle it also be-
comes more flexible and sculptural.
CONCLUSION
I opt for a visceral identification with form in
this bocly of work, :celying on the senses and emotions, the
more priml ti ve
instrume:r~ts
of discovery.
\fhen guided by
intellect, thts leads more directly to the essence of my
work.
Its ambiguous
natur~
is deliberate, with the in-
tention of crecll ting the vlm·mr Hi th the ability to con-,
tribute his own insights and intu:ltive sensibility to the
experiencJ.:ng of my work.
Figure 1. Slip In.
1973. Stuff e d Fabric.
18 x 66".
Figure 2. Lift Here to Form Pour Spout. 197L1..
Fabric:-- 24x"72"" .-
Stuffed
F'1gure
3.
Here.
Stuffed Fabric.
10
Figure
4. Replace Lid to Prote ct Contents,
Stuffed Fabric.
56
x
50".
1973.
1:!_
Figure
5. OJ2ens Eas ily, Neatly, fompl~t e1y .
Stuffed Fabric.
52 x 50".
19?3.
1.2
Flgure 6. Slide Fin,&\er Under Flap.
Rubber-cfo-th. 52 x- w .
1973.
Stuffed