Shelter Structure

http://dp.la/api/items/6fc20a6f1e92f83ca872a82dd0b35ec8

Shelter Structure

Norma Minkowitz, born New York City 1937

1985

Shelter Structure has two distinct sections: the densely knit bottom and the transparent weblike top. Norma Minkowitz’s loose crocheting allows light to permeate the object, altering its appearance. She used shellac to stiffen the thread so that the otherwise delicate and flimsy material would hold its form. Minkowitz’s hollow works express both shelter and confinement. It is possible to peer inside her vessels through the stitching and to think of them as inviting, protective places, but her knitting also evokes the feeling of being caught inside with no way out.

“My sculptures enclose and confine, but they also expose. While the sculpture cannot be entered, the interior is visible through the exterior, which is a meshed cage. The element of light plays an important role in viewing my work. As the light changes, so does the dominance of the outer and inner forms. They exchange places.” Artist’s statement, 2002

Minkowitz, Norma

Smithsonian Institution

http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID=saam_1998.122.16&repo=DPLA

Minkowitz, Norma