scripted 1997

Ann Hamilton made this small artwork, "scripted," with horsehair, beeswax, and wood. Here is a box containing traces, a little like those reliquaries in churches, but weird, secular, and sort of humorous. I wonder what she was thinking when she made it? Maybe about language, or the body... maybe the odd pairing of organic and geometric forms? There's something about the muted tones and the tactile quality of the materials that draws me in. I think of other artists who play with similar themes – Eva Hesse, maybe, with her sensual use of unconventional materials, or Joseph Beuys, with his shamanistic approach to found objects. For me, Hamilton’s artwork embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed readings.