¶ … Journalism

Art in the form of wires and words "

Ruth Asawa is best known for her crocheted wire sculptures, while Fiona Banner puts a new twist into the concept of nude art. Asawa's wire sculptures are three dimensional in nature while Banner's artwork is two dimensional. Asawa only used crocheted wire as material for her work; Banner employed large graphite canvases and block letters as material for hers. In creating her work Asawa used a method that "yielded fluid forms with structure and surface mutually defining one another via a repetitive, loopy line with just enough strength to hold a shape when suspended"(Miles, Dec. 31, 2006). Asawa's artwork also cut the air into silhouettes and allowed space to flow through it. For her artwork Banner simply had graphic verbal descriptions of nudes running as continuous lines throughout the canvases.

Only the wires' natural grayish colors were used for Asawa's artwork. Banner, however, prominently used colors to give meaning to her work. In her piece entitled "Smokey Nude" for example, Banner used white block letters cast upon a misty gray canvas in order to depict nudity enveloped in smoke. Asawa's sculptures literally depict wires shaped into various forms such as bells, cones, teardrops, spheres, and ruffles, thus making it a form of abstract art. Banner's work literally depicts written paragraphs about nudes set on dark canvases, which makes it a form of representational art.

While Asawa's sculptures do not explicitly represent anything, Banner's artwork is meant to represent female nudity. Banner tries to convey the message that nudity can be displayed verbally as well visually. Asawa employs symbolism to express harmony and interconnectedness. Asawa's artwork serves an artistic function under the context of beauty emanating from mundane objects. Banner's artwork also serves an artistic function under the context of displaying nudity through text instead of image.

References

Miles, C. (Dec. 31, 2006). "Sculptor of light and air" Retrieved January 3, 2007 from Los Angeles Times Web site: http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-ca-asawa31dec31,0,1734043.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels

Ollman, L. (Dec. 15, 2006). "Paintings that will make motors run: the word on presenting nudes." Retrieved January 3, 2007 from Los Angeles Times Web site: http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/reviews/cl-et-galleries15dec15,0,3376072.story