Untitled, (Liquid Spice)
GUSS TOVE
American, b. 2006
Clear plastic, peppercorns and indeterminate materials
Gift of the House of Payne Foundation
09.10.2007
This work was executed during a little understood period in Guss Tove's oeuvre. Gripped in the throes of depression, Tove readily admits a debt to the demons of his darker nature. With his Untitled, (Liquid Spice), Tove juxtaposes the diverging qualities of hot and cold with exacting brilliance. The peppercorns, here signifying the spice or heat (sacred), are set against the apparent melting fluidity of the plastic -- cold (profane) -- setting off a counter-compositional explosion. The viewer is startled and disturbed to realize -- upon careful reflection -- that it is the melting glass that exerts visual precedence over the peppercorns, and thus it is the profane above all in this work. In composing Untitled, (Liquid Spice) in such a manner, Tove illustrates to the viewer the tenuity of sacred versus profane -- in essence, of good versus. evil.
3 comments:
A transformational moment transcending tradition, incorporating modern and primitive in a bonding yet liberating juxtaposition. Nuanced and subtle, powerful and poetic.
Was a cat involved in the formation?
gaahhhhhhh flashback to writing art history papers! yikes!
nice job though :)
Ah ... an Art History Major ???
Or someone has a future in politics
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