Description
This wall-mounted, mixed media sculpture is one of the most visually complex pieces in the exhibition. Although it shares some formal elements with Yoyogi II , the shapes in Wallabout are less fluid, foreshadowing Pfaff’s eventual progression toward a more linear style. Pfaff creates a sense of bulk and chaos by layering multiple shapes and elements in a confined space. However, when reduced to the individual forms that make up the composition, it becomes clear that Wallabout is an ordered collection of geometric shapes. Quadrilaterals dominate the sculpture: a trapezoidal prism juts out on the top right and is mirrored by a rectangular box that interrupts the center of the piece, which is surrounded by a square frame. Two more wooden boxes shoot out on the far right, parallel to the first box, and are overlaid with the same crosshatched grids. These grids also cover the sculpture’s circular elements, lending a sense of harmony to the only non-linear shapes.Wallabout is an explosion of color: bold swaths sweep across the sculpture, alternating between broad, painterly strokes, solid stripes, and jagged, mosaic-like lines. Strong blacks, reds, and yellows dominate the palette, with secondary colors largely relegated to background and accent shades. Wallabout straddles the line between order and disorder; it is harmonious and chaotic all at once.
Details
- Work Date:
- 1986
- Dimensions:
- 72 x 96 x 48 in
- Medium:
- Steel, painted balsa wood and plywood
- Credit Line:
- Photograph by Laura Shea. © Judy Pfaff