Woman with a child 

Alina Szapocznikow made this sculpture of a Woman with a Child, working with stone, a medium associated with permanence and monumentality. Look closely, and you'll see the hand-carved marks of the artist's tools; this wasn't cast in a factory, but shaped by Szapocznikow's own hands. The weight of the stone lends a sense of gravity to the maternal subject. It conveys the burdens carried by women, particularly in the post-war period during which Szapocznikow was working. While the subject matter is traditional, the rough carving is distinctive. Szapocznikow has not labored to disguise the nature of the stone itself, or the process of its making. You can compare this approach to the slickness of marble carving, typical of the classical tradition. Szapocznikow has made a conscious decision to avoid that kind of virtuosity. By emphasizing the material and the process, Szapocznikow elevates the act of making to the forefront of our attention, challenging conventional boundaries of art history.