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Maker(s):Ijichi, Mary
Culture:American (1952- )
Title:String Drawing #2
Date Made:2002
Type:Drawing; Installation
Materials:Acrylic and string on mylar, acrylic and metal hanger
Measurements:overall: 140 in x 40 in; 355.6 cm x 101.6 cm
Accession Number:  UM 2003.1
Credit Line:Gift of Werner H. and Sarah-Ann Kramarsky
Museum Collection:  University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMASS Amherst
UM2003-1.jpg

Description:
This work is hung on the wall so 1/4 of the length continues onto the floor. The surface is textured with horizontal lines with random knubs of material embedded into the surface of the mylar. The color ranges between ivory and a warm sand color. There is a border of clear mylar surrounding the textured portion of the work.

Label Text:
MARY IJICHI Artist Statement
In today's world, we often find ourselves bombarded with too much information and too few truths. We ponder how seemingly basic principles become hidden behind layers of verbosity, and how our well-honed communication skills are used to hide our truths. When our world seems too complex, such is the time when honesty feels refreshingly peaceful.

My string drawings were born from desire to spend more time thinking about our use of language and how we communicate. When I began the series, I used horizontal lines to represent illegible script. As in a page of text, the lettering was the positive space and the white background the negative. View the same text from afar and the visual information is reversed. The white bands become the positive while the lettering recedes into a speckled backdrop. I used this switch from negative to positive space to represent the confusion that often befalls when words are used to conceal.

As the work evolved, I sought to reconcile the positive and negative aspects of our ability to rationalize. While being a powerful tool to help us through our most difficult times, rationalization can also justify arguments. The horizontal lines came to represent a sense of peace in understanding the dualities of our human condition. The meditative aspects of the process ascended. Immersion in a repetitive methodology enveloped me with tranquility and a tactile impulse drew me in. Time and place seemed to disappear. It is my hope that the viewer feels a sense of calm while in the presence of my work.
LA@georgebillis.com

Tags:
installations; abstract; lines; texture; communication

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=UM+2003.1

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