Event 4

For my final event of the quarter, I attended Judith Hopf’s exhibit at the Hammer Museum.  Throughout the exhibit are several brick sculptures, some of which are pictured below.  Hopf’s biography indicates that she often builds her sculptures out of supplies found at a hardware store, thus explaining the brick.  The concept of square bricks being used within the sculptures allows for them to have this inherent look of technical perfection.  While the brick feet and hand were impressive sculptures that must have taken significant amount of time to build, my favorite was the penguin sculpture in the center of the room.  I think a large part of my appeal to it had to do with the way the square bricks still seem to resonate with this idea of technical perfection within the cylindrical frame of the sculpture.  The even levels and lines remind me of the way artists during the Renaissance began to integrate math, specifically geometry, with art.



The exhibit also includes several collages of laptops with arms, legs, and faces meant to represent the increasing presence of technology on our lives today.  I personally see the various facial expressions signifying the way that technology affects different people—some positively, others negatively, and some are just neutral.


 There were a few other displays within the exhibit, including some rope hanging from the ceiling and a short film.  I’m not exactly sure what the rope was meant to represent and have been having a hard time trying to connect it to the other works of art within the room.  The short film was quite exciting, showing a car traveling along a dirt road on just its right two wheels.  The road and surrounding countryside are relatively barren.  Towards the end of the film, the left side of the vehicle falls down and the car continues to travel on all four wheels.  As the left side comes down, a basketball falls out of the back of the car and rolls down the dirt path.  The brick sculpture of a ball within the room actually reminded me of this basketball, as they are nearly identical in color and not far off in size.

Rope Hanging from Ceiling

Overall, I enjoyed this exhibit and thought the sculptures and the short film were appealing to look at and exciting.  I would recommend it to others, especially since it’s not every day you get to see impressive sculptures made out of brick.

Picture of Me with Hammer Museum Employee

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