Art with Attitude: Kiki Smith and Jane Hammond

There's a tone I found underlining these two artist. Both seem to have a scattered mindset in the way that they create their work, often taking bits and piecesof media and cultural and developing it into something conceptual. To describe their work, i think of honesty in the way that what they create is up-front, opinionated often dealing with social issues such as women's perspective. Though, what I found to be the major difference between Kiki Smith and Jane Hammond is Smith's literal style of work and Hammond's metaphorical qualities.

Kiki Smith is just as much characterized as her work. Sort of foul-mouthed and uncensored there is no question to why her work can cause a wave of criticism, especially to one with an eye for conservatism. In her recent works displaying body art in a way that refers to the spirtual aspects humans Smith makes her forms with a sense of indestrucatibility of life. Life in which propells us can also stop in a second. In this matter she chooses to work with paper because it works tough and strong in a way it can bend and crumble but yet carries the essence of being fragil, much like life. In comparison to Hammond who constructs meaning with her work, Smith seperates form from meaning by taking out the aspects that give a form personality or acquaintance to the viewer. Instead she she's the form in spirtuality, without weight, translucent, and easily broken. It's the idea of not having a meaning and leaving the reason up to the viewer who might not understand the work but might connect their own personal experience to it.

Bridging the two artist is the pshycological aspect of their work in which their work is based off of seeing and relating . Hammond often relates her work to literature, or a mixture of past and present. Her work is viewed as metaphorical and much like Smith, is created with an opinionated stand point. With an intential basic color pallet of black, white, red, yellow, and blue, Hammond makes a connection between social issues and objects one wouldn't think would relate. The hype of "cure-all" marrow tea is presented as a collapsable box in one of her exhibits. There's an emotional reaction to the ideas of her work and she combines them with personal reference. She keeps a notebook of names ranging from pets to English Castles that she uses to represent parts of her work. There's a collage style to her work in which visuals and verbals are placed at random in a way that they communicate to each other. Unlike the work of Smith who devoids meaning from certain objects. Both artist I found to be innovative, and unique in thoughts of how life is viewed.