MAREN HASSINGER
Rain, 2007
Ink on paper
8 1/2 x 11 in. Sheet
10 1/2 x 12 7/8 in. Frame
10 1/2 x 12 7/8 in. Frame
Copyright The Artist
Hassinger's practice has long centered on Nature as a place where the artist finds peace and harmony. Having previously recreated the natural environment with wire and manmade materials, she now...
Hassinger's practice has long centered on Nature as a place where the artist finds peace and harmony. Having previously recreated the natural environment with wire and manmade materials, she now turns to the written word. The repetition of her script forms a mantra channeling that peace.
The flowing handwriting in "Rain," with its variations between repetitions of the titular word, evokes the ripples and undulations of water as a primordial element. The arrangement of the words into irregular columns mimics a heavy rainfall, which appears uniformly constant on a macro scale, but is actually composed of erratic and unpredictable droplets. Rain is a powerful force all its own, but is also affected by other aspects of nature, such as wind or the land, subjects of the related works "Wind" and "Savannah." In these works, the written word becomes both a method to channel the latent power of Nature and an allegory for its turbulent beauty. This body of work was conceived during her residency at the Joan Mitchell Foundation, New Orleans.
The flowing handwriting in "Rain," with its variations between repetitions of the titular word, evokes the ripples and undulations of water as a primordial element. The arrangement of the words into irregular columns mimics a heavy rainfall, which appears uniformly constant on a macro scale, but is actually composed of erratic and unpredictable droplets. Rain is a powerful force all its own, but is also affected by other aspects of nature, such as wind or the land, subjects of the related works "Wind" and "Savannah." In these works, the written word becomes both a method to channel the latent power of Nature and an allegory for its turbulent beauty. This body of work was conceived during her residency at the Joan Mitchell Foundation, New Orleans.