Shoelace 1995

Curator: Here we have Mladen Stilinovic's 1995 sculpture, "Shoelace." Editor: My first impression is one of quiet starkness. The bareness of the form emphasizes the minimal aspects of both objecthood and architecture. It hangs with a strange stillness, a mute counterpoint to the dynamism we usually associate with sculpture. Curator: It's a curious interplay between recognizable forms. The wooden structure mimics a basic architectural element, while the shoelace dangles, almost disembodied, questioning utility through abstraction. Editor: Absolutely. Consider the deliberate, yet simplified, act of production involved. He chose wood and seemingly discarded material: a shoelace. The wood itself appears raw, untreated. It focuses attention on the rudimentary nature of both material and manufacturing and implies an anti-consumerist stance, don't you think? Curator: Undoubtedly. Its very simplicity prompts deeper inspection into line and volume relationships, the orthogonal lines disrupted only by the organic curve of the string, a gesture towards the real. It challenges us to decode a complex idea about presence and absence, reality and representation, within such elementary forms. Editor: To extend that further, imagine the work involved. Sourcing the wood, cutting it with precision, affixing it to the wall; these are not passive gestures. This intentional act of bringing these disparate elements together and forcing us to look again at mundane objects allows them a strange importance, no? Curator: Exactly. It reveals that what constitutes the aesthetic power resides not merely in skillful representation, but rather within a conscious restructuring of elementary visual grammar. Editor: By deliberately placing the “Shoelace” in our eyeline, he insists we consider not just *what* something is made of, but *how* that process affects what we consume, see and deem to be art. Curator: An ultimately resonant composition, a synthesis that forces reflection on material presence, object status, and pure form. Editor: A humble and potent example of minimalism highlighting production value.