Hard Soft Bodies
Artist
Kiki Smith
(American, born Germany, 1954)
Date1992
MediumPaper and papier-mâché
DimensionsA (upper torse with head): 79 × 16 × 8 inches (200.66 × 40.64 × 20.32 cm)
B (full torso): 38 × 19 × 7 inches (96.52 × 48.26 × 17.78 cm)
B (full torso): 38 × 19 × 7 inches (96.52 × 48.26 × 17.78 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation–Commerce Bank, Trustee
Object number2007.35.A,B
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThe papier-maché sculpture is made up of 2 partial female forms. The body of the upper torso consists of a head, arms, and upper torso cut off just below the breasts wiwth a looping form falling from the chest. The body of the full torso is headless, with arms and upper torso cutt off just below the breasts, with a sac-like structure falling from the chest. The bodily forms appear fragile and deflated.Gallery LabelKiki Smith is known for her depictions of the human body, particularly the female body. She began to focus on the body because, as she said, "it is the one form that we all share. It's something that everyone has their own experience with."
In Hard Soft Bodies, Smith presents the upper torsos of two female figures. The hard, papier-mâché forms are cast from life, then wrapped in a "skin" of translucent rice paper to emphasize the fragility of the body and of life itself.
Here, arms hang limply. Similarly, deflated lungs, uterus and intestines drop from their casings. The absence of a head in one figure and the missing lower bodies of both suggest dismemberment. The sculpture suggests the fragility of our physical selves.
In Hard Soft Bodies, Smith presents the upper torsos of two female figures. The hard, papier-mâché forms are cast from life, then wrapped in a "skin" of translucent rice paper to emphasize the fragility of the body and of life itself.
Here, arms hang limply. Similarly, deflated lungs, uterus and intestines drop from their casings. The absence of a head in one figure and the missing lower bodies of both suggest dismemberment. The sculpture suggests the fragility of our physical selves.
Copyright© Kiki Smith
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