Kiki Smith’s fascination with the body and skin as
both protective yet fragile began in the 1970’s. Her emphasis on the human body
and its functions defied traditional distinctions between public and private
subject matter. When she began her Stuart Collection project, her ideas evolved
in relation to the site between the Medical Teaching Facility and the Basic
Sciences Building on the UCSD campus in La Jolla.
Smith decided to put a body on top of a classic
pedestal to show the importance of the human body but later evolved into putting
a body on a cast of a tree trunk. A dead eucalyptus tree was located on campus
and removed to be cast in concrete. The many insect paths under the bark of the
tree immediately interested Smith and were included on the final product.
The figure for "The Standing" was cast from a live
model and calls forth thoughts of human strength and fatality, and both the
power and limits of medicine. The figure produces a feeling of serenity. The
calming sound of the water and hummingbirds that drink out of the hands creates
a quiet intimacy. The arms reach downward towards the earth in a Madonna-like
pose. Water flows from her hands into the rocks that line the bottom of the
tree trunk. The starfish-like pins on her chest, which make up the astrological
sign for Virgo plays on the word virgin, to emphasize the Madonna-like pose. The
tree trunk itself, filled with the paths of insects, which could have caused
its demise, creates an image of life and death.
After seeing "The Standing," stop by Thumbprint
Gallery, on Kline Street in La Jolla, to learn more about contemporary and
urban art!
Source: http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/artists/smith-k.shtml
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