Gah

lber

g G

alle

ry

Thur

sday

, Oct

2 t

o Sa

turd

ay, N

ov. 8

, 200

3

AL

ISO

NK

NO

WL

ES

Col

lege

of D

uPag

e

A S

CU

LPTU

RE

OF

IND

ETE

RM

INA

CY:

Alis

on K

now

les’

Bea

ns a

nd V

aria

tion

s

Alis

on

Kno

wle

s’ w

ork

as

an a

rtis

t, s

pan

ning

a

per

iod

fro

m t

he la

te 1

950s

to

the

pre

sent

, has

mo

st o

ften

bee

n d

iscu

ssed

with

in t

he c

ont

ext

of

the

rad

ical

per

form

ance

act

iviti

es o

f Flu

xus.

Whi

leth

is h

isto

rical

fram

ewo

rk p

rovi

des

an

esse

ntia

l co

ntex

t fo

r K

now

les’

evo

lutio

n as

an

artis

t, it

fails

to a

cco

unt

for

the

siza

ble

bo

dy

of w

ork

she

has

pro

duc

ed o

utsi

de

of h

er F

luxu

s ac

tiviti

es. T

his

brie

f tex

t fo

cuse

s ex

clus

ivel

y o

n K

now

les’

rec

ent

wo

rk, n

ot

as a

n o

utg

row

th o

f Flu

xus

pur

e an

d

sim

ple

, but

as

a p

rod

uctio

n q

uite

dis

tinct

fro

m

that

of h

er 1

960s

co

lleag

ues,

and

one

tha

t ha

sre

tain

ed t

he in

fluen

ce o

f rad

ical

co

mp

ose

r Jo

hnC

age.

In s

hort

, it

is a

bo

dy

of w

ork

tha

t m

ight

b

e th

oug

ht o

f as

a Sc

ulp

ture

of I

ndet

erm

inac

y.U

nexp

ecte

d m

edia

— li

ke b

eans

, sho

e so

les,

te

xtua

l and

mus

ical

sco

re fo

rmat

s —

def

ine

this

dyn

amic

scu

lptin

g, b

ut it

s ul

timat

e fr

ame

and

stru

ctur

ing

ap

par

atus

is t

ime

itsel

f. B

y p

rop

osi

ngce

rtai

n le

itmo

tifs

to r

ead

the

wo

rk, t

he in

tent

ion

is n

ot

to fi

x it

into

a p

lace

, but

rat

her

to w

ork

as

it w

ork

s, t

hro

ugh

bo

und

arie

s an

d b

etw

een

the

gen

res

of c

onv

entio

nal a

rtis

tic p

ract

ice.

“Ind

eter

min

acy”

is a

pre

mis

e C

age

dev

elo

ped

in

the

co

ntex

t o

f mus

ic t

hat

was

tak

en u

p t

og

reat

er a

nd le

sser

deg

rees

by

a nu

mb

er o

f Flu

xus

artis

ts, b

ut d

evel

op

ed t

horo

ughl

y b

y K

now

les.

It

invo

lves

the

idea

tha

t an

art

ist

coul

d c

om

po

se

a w

ork

or

a p

erfo

rman

ce o

n th

e b

asis

tha

t th

ey

do

no

t d

eter

min

e ho

w it

will

act

ually

tur

n o

ut.

Co

ntra

dic

ting

the

no

tion

of “

mas

tery

” as

soci

ated

with

tra

diti

ona

l wo

rks

of a

rt, t

he r

adic

alis

m o

f thi

sco

ncep

t lie

s in

the

art

ist’s

will

ing

sur

rend

er o

f co

ntro

l. Th

e o

ther

key

feat

ure

we

find

in K

now

les’

art

is t

he r

elat

ed id

ea o

f an

utte

rly “

op

en”

wo

rk,

who

se o

nly

arm

atur

e is

the

tem

po

ralit

yan

d

focu

s th

at o

rgan

ize

it. A

dd

ed t

o in

det

erm

inac

yan

d o

pen

ness

, the

str

uctu

re o

f “p

erfo

rman

ce”

pro

vid

es b

oth

co

ncre

tene

ss a

nd m

ob

ility

to

the

diff

eren

t o

bje

cts

com

po

sed

by

Kno

wle

s. A

nd t

hear

tist’s

mat

eria

ls, d

isca

rded

/fo

und

ob

ject

s, b

eans

and

scu

lpte

d p

aper

pul

p (j

ust

to n

ame

a fe

w),

are

bro

ught

in c

onc

ert

with

form

s o

f rad

ical

sco

ring

and

the

reb

y re

inve

sted

with

mea

ning

; red

eem

ed,

thro

ugh

a ne

w r

ole

and

pur

po

se. T

he e

very

day

bea

uty

of t

he r

aw m

ater

ial c

alls

to

min

d t

he w

ord

so

f str

uctu

ral s

emio

log

ist

Ro

land

Bar

thes

, in

his

mem

ora

ble

des

crip

tion

of t

he J

apan

ese

artis

t/ar

tisan

/che

f, p

erfo

rmin

g t

he m

akin

g o

f tem

pur

a:

The

eel (

or

the

pie

ce o

f veg

etab

le, o

f she

llfis

h),

crys

talli

zed

in g

reas

e ...

is r

educ

ed t

o ..

. a c

olle

ctio

no

f per

fora

tions

: her

e th

e fo

od

stuf

f jo

ins

the

dre

amo

f a p

arad

ox:

tha

t o

f the

pur

ely

inte

rstit

ial o

bje

ct,

all t

he m

ore

pro

voca

tive

in t

hat

this

em

ptin

ess

isp

rod

uced

in o

rder

to

pro

vid

e no

uris

hmen

t ...

So

met

imes

the

pie

ce o

f tem

pur

a is

in s

tag

es ..

.b

ut t

he c

ont

our

is s

o li

ght

tha

t it

bec

om

esab

stra

ct: t

he fo

od

stuf

f has

for

its e

nvel

op

eno

thin

g b

ut t

ime,

the

tim

e (e

xtre

mel

y te

nuo

us,

mo

reo

ver)

whi

ch h

as s

olid

ified

it. (

...) r

efin

ed b

yth

e Ja

pan

ese

tech

niq

ues

of c

ance

llatio

n an

dex

emp

tion,

it is

the

nut

rient

of a

noth

er t

ime

...a

kind

of m

edita

tion,

as

muc

h sp

ecta

cula

r as

alim

enta

ry (s

ince

tem

pur

a is

pre

par

ed b

efo

reyo

ur e

yes)

... (

It is

) on

the

sid

e o

f the

lig

ht, t

heae

rial,

of t

he in

stan

tane

ous

, the

frag

ile, t

hetr

ansp

aren

t ...

but

who

se r

eal n

ame

wo

uld

be

the

inte

rstic

e w

itho

ut s

pec

ific

edg

es, o

r ag

ain:

the

emp

ty s

ign.

On

cove

r:Th

e B

ean

Ro

lls,

mix

ed m

edia

, 1963

(The

che

f’s) .

.. ac

tivity

is li

tera

lly g

rap

hic,

he

insc

ribes

the

foo

dst

uff i

n th

e su

bst

ance

; his

stal

l is

arra

nged

like

a c

allig

rap

her’s

tab

le; h

eto

uche

s th

e su

bst

ance

s lik

e th

e g

rap

hic

artis

t(e

spec

ially

if h

e is

Jap

anes

e) w

ho a

ltern

ates

pot

s,b

rush

es, i

nk s

tone

, wat

er, p

aper

; he

ther

eby

acco

mp

lishe

s ...

a h

iera

rchi

zed

arr

ang

emen

t,no

t o

f tim

e b

ut o

f ten

ses

(tho

se o

f a g

ram

mar

of t

emp

ura)

, mak

es v

isib

le a

n en

tire

gam

ut o

fp

ract

ices

, rec

ites

the

food

stuf

f no

t as

a fi

nish

edm

erch

and

ise.

.. b

ut a

s a

pro

duc

t w

hose

mea

ning

is n

ot

final

but

pro

gre

ssiv

e, e

xhau

sted

, so

to

spea

k, w

hen

its p

rod

uctio

n ha

s en

ded

: it

is y

ou

who

eat

, but

it is

he

who

has

pla

yed

, who

has

writ

ten,

who

has

pro

duc

ed.

fro

m R

ola

nd B

arth

es, T

he In

ters

tice

in E

mp

ire o

f Sig

ns.1

In t

he p

roce

ss o

f pap

erm

akin

g, p

artic

ular

ly t

hesh

apes

form

ed b

y th

e w

et p

ulp

as

it is

left

to

air

dry

are

res

pec

ted

and

bec

om

e in

dig

eno

usto

the

scu

lptu

re. I

n p

erfo

rman

ces,

I am

dra

wn

to o

bje

cts

for

thei

r so

und

. My

orc

hest

ra

cons

ists

of b

eans

, to

ys, p

aper

s an

d w

ord

s. (.

..)ea

ch in

stru

men

t co

mes

out

of s

ilenc

e m

akes

its

per

form

ance

and

ret

urns

to

sile

nce.

Alis

on

Kno

wle

s, S

tate

men

t.2

Like

the

Jap

anes

e ch

ef B

arth

es d

escr

ibes

,K

now

les’

rec

ent

wo

rk h

as t

he q

ualit

y o

f a li

fetim

eo

f dev

elo

pin

g a

cer

tain

eas

e an

d w

isd

om

with

afu

ll g

amut

of m

ater

ials

. The

quo

te a

bo

ve e

voke

sK

now

les’

pra

ctic

e w

ith a

ccur

acy

that

’s im

po

ssib

leto

eq

ual,

bec

ause

it r

epre

sent

s an

art

tha

t is

fully

inte

gra

ted

with

life

: mat

ter,

fuse

d w

ith t

ime.

Kno

wle

s’ m

atur

e w

ork

has

abou

t it

a fu

lly d

evel

oped

exp

erie

ntia

l pre

senc

e th

at h

as a

cced

ed t

o t

he

cond

itio

ns o

f ped

ago

gy,

but

one

of t

he h

ighe

st

ord

ers

— m

ore

Zen

less

on

than

sch

oo

l. Th

ere

is

an e

ffort

less

ness

with

whi

ch s

he “

reo

rient

s” h

ero

bje

cts,

shi

ftin

g t

hem

fro

m t

he in

alie

nab

le a

nd

rare

fied

sp

ace

of t

he m

useu

m w

all —

unh

esita

ting

lyw

ith h

er o

wn

hand

s —

pas

sing

the

m t

o t

he

aud

ienc

e, a

s th

oug

h it

was

the

ir rig

ht t

o k

now

them

. A h

ang

ing

she

et o

f scu

lpte

d p

aper

, with

its

ext

rao

rdin

ary,

rud

dy

top

og

rap

hy, b

egs

inte

nse

visu

al s

crut

iny,

lead

ing

the

eye

thr

oug

h its

man

ytr

ibut

arie

s an

d e

rup

tions

. And

the

n a

mo

men

tla

ter,

one

and

the

sam

e p

aper

pie

ce is

tra

nsfo

rmed

Th

e G

iant

Bea

n Tu

rner

(in

stru

men

t),

flax

, so

ybea

ns,

2000

into

an

inst

rum

ent:

an

Ad

uki B

ean

Turn

er o

r O

atFl

ax C

him

e. T

here

are

no

hie

rarc

hies

. A “

nois

e-m

aker

” b

elo

ngs

on

the

wal

l with

oth

er “

wo

rks

of

art”

and

a v

ast,

imp

ress

ive

exp

anse

of s

culp

ted

pap

er is

just

as

“at

hom

e” o

ut o

f the

fram

e,m

anip

ulat

ed b

y th

e cr

ow

d, a

ll its

inte

rnal

bea

nsra

cing

thr

oug

h it

apac

e.

“I d

on’

t ev

er w

ant

the

art

to b

e st

ill, f

inis

hed

,”sa

ys K

now

les.

“I w

ant

it to

be

avai

lab

le fo

rso

meb

od

y to

do

so

met

hing

els

e w

ith it

...

[som

ethi

ng] t

hat

I wou

ldn’

t ha

ve t

houg

ht o

f ...”

3

The

pap

er p

iece

s us

ed in

Kno

wle

s’ p

erfo

rman

ces

cons

titut

e an

ind

eter

min

ate

scul

ptu

reb

ecau

se, a

sK

now

les

exp

lain

s, in

all

mo

des

ty, “

I thi

nk t

he m

ain

thin

g I’

ve d

isco

vere

d a

bo

ut p

aper

in t

he p

ast

five

year

s is

tha

t it

form

s its

elf.

You

get

so

met

hing

whi

ch y

ou

coul

d n

ever

pre

dic

t.”4

All

of t

hem

bec

om

e re

mar

kab

le s

culp

tura

l ob

ject

s, o

nly

to

be

re-o

rient

ed a

nd n

arro

wed

do

wn,

to

tho

se t

hat

fit t

he b

od

y o

r ha

ve a

par

ticul

ar s

oun

d-m

akin

gca

pab

ility

. Of h

er h

ard

, whi

te s

hells

of p

aper

, titl

edR

ob

es o

f the

Sai

nts,

Kno

wle

s ex

pla

ins,

“I d

ried

abo

ut s

even

of t

hem

and

onl

y o

ne fi

t m

y ar

m.”

5

She

then

dem

ons

trat

es h

ow

she

saw

s o

n th

is a

rm-

shap

ed fo

rm t

o “

soun

d it

.” In

the

per

form

ance

s,K

now

les

giv

es t

he a

udie

nce

the

op

po

rtun

ity t

o d

oth

e sa

me.

To

enc

our

age

tho

se w

ho a

re u

nsur

e o

rin

hib

ited

, she

mak

es a

po

int

of h

and

ing

the

m h

erar

t, t

he p

aper

ob

ject

s th

ey m

ay b

e af

raid

to

to

uch,

giv

ing

the

m a

new

po

tent

ial o

ut o

f tha

t si

mp

leg

estu

re a

nd a

ct.

Gen

tle

Surp

rise

s fo

r th

e E

ar (

wit

h P

hilip

Co

rner

and

Bill

Fo

ntan

a),

foun

d o

bje

cts

tick

eted

fo

rso

und

, in

stal

lati

on

sho

t fr

om

Mus

eum

of

Co

ntem

po

rary

Art

, Lo

s A

ngel

es,

1975

The

Oni

on

Skin

So

ng(2

003)

is a

ctua

lly m

ade

bef

ore

the

eye

s o

f the

aud

ienc

e: P

iece

s o

f rea

lo

nio

n sk

in a

re s

and

wic

hed

in p

last

ic fi

lm fo

rmin

gan

env

ironm

enta

l sco

re. T

he o

nio

n sk

in is

the

uno

rtho

do

x m

ater

ial t

hat

pro

mo

tes

exp

erim

enta

lm

usic

al a

ctio

n, p

ersu

adin

g t

he p

erfo

rmer

aw

ayfr

om

old

mus

ical

hab

its, a

s a

trad

itio

nal s

core

neve

r co

uld

. So

me

read

its

natu

ral s

tria

tions

as

the

gra

phe

mes

of m

usic

al n

ota

tion,

whi

le o

ther

s ta

keth

e p

iece

s w

hole

as

a m

om

ent

of s

oun

d, t

he g

aps

bet

wee

n th

em s

igna

ling

sile

nce.

The

aud

ienc

eb

eco

mes

fully

invo

lved

, at

all l

evel

s o

f act

ion,

soun

din

g a

nd o

bse

rvin

g, a

nd s

oo

n no

one

can

te

ll th

e d

ance

r fr

om

the

dan

ce.

In a

rec

ent

stat

emen

t, K

now

les

des

crib

ed t

hep

roce

ss o

f dis

cove

ry in

her

wo

rk, w

ith t

hese

wo

rds:

... I

colle

ct s

hoe

heel

s ...

I am

no

t hu

ntin

g u

sual

ly, j

ust

rush

ing

to

get

som

ewhe

re li

ke e

very

bo

dy

else

, but

sud

den

ly,

unex

pec

ted

ly, a

kin

to t

he fo

und

item

, a fo

und

time

op

ens

up ..

.Th

e he

el I

pic

k up

... q

uick

ly, o

ffhan

ded

ly ..

.g

ets

stas

hed

in m

y p

ock

et. T

here

is a

pec

ulia

rch

emis

try

to t

he m

yste

rious

ter

rain

I fin

d m

ysel

fin

at

that

tim

e....

I lo

ve t

o s

urf t

he s

tree

t....

At

hom

e it

get

s cl

eane

d, s

tud

ied

, dra

wn

insi

lho

uett

e, p

erha

ps

scre

en p

rinte

d w

ith t

hena

me

of a

n an

imal

....

Yo

u kn

ow

tha

t sh

oe

heel

s ca

n’t

be

bo

ught

.N

ot

for

sale

any

whe

re. I

sn’t

it sp

ecia

l to

hav

ere

cog

nize

d t

he e

nerg

y ex

pen

ded

in t

he

sho

e he

el?

6

In t

hat

des

crip

tion,

she

def

ines

the

scu

lptu

re o

fin

det

erm

inac

yin

an

inim

itab

le m

anne

r th

at t

oo

k a

lifet

ime

to le

arn.

Fo

r it

is s

urel

y th

is “

foun

d t

ime”

that

Kno

wle

s ha

s al

way

s cr

eate

d in

her

wo

rk,

scul

ptin

g it

into

a fo

rm in

whi

ch a

pp

rehe

nsio

n is

po

ssib

le, a

tten

tiven

ess

to it

and

so

muc

h el

se,

mak

ing

bra

cket

s ar

oun

d it

so

it m

ight

no

t g

o b

yun

notic

ed. R

eco

gni

zing

“th

e en

erg

y ex

pen

ded

in

the

sho

e he

el”

seem

s lik

e an

ino

rdin

atel

y m

od

est

reck

oni

ng o

f a li

fe’s

wo

rk. B

ut t

hen

per

hap

s it

is n

ot.

5

Oni

on

Skin

So

ng(s

core

), p

erfo

rman

ce s

hot,

Sa

n Fr

anci

sco

Art

Ins

titu

te,

Ap

ril 2

003

6

No

rth

Sea,

colla

ge

wit

h sh

oe

sole

, 2002

Co

ntra

ry t

o m

ost

rea

din

gs

of K

now

les’

wo

rk, h

ero

wn

rep

rese

ntat

ions

incl

uded

, it

seem

s m

ore

and

mo

re a

pp

aren

t th

at s

uch

a p

roje

ct is

fund

amen

tally

po

litic

al(e

ven

anar

chic

al in

the

sen

se t

hat

Cag

ew

as c

om

mitt

ed t

o a

narc

hy, t

houg

h m

ore

sub

tle o

run

dec

lare

d).

It is

wo

rk a

gai

nst

all o

dd

s. T

he w

ay in

whi

ch it

res

tore

s tim

ean

d la

bo

rto

our

exp

erie

nce

of o

bje

cts

— b

e th

ey s

hoe

sole

s or

bea

ns a

nd p

aper

— is

par

tly c

aptu

red

by

Kno

wle

s’ s

tate

men

t, “

As

we

kno

w, t

ime

spen

t o

n sh

oes

is n

ever

was

ted

.”7

Beg

inni

ng a

t th

e m

om

ent

of p

op

art

, Kno

wle

s’w

ork

has

open

ed u

p t

ime

whe

re c

omm

odity

cul

ture

has

soug

ht t

o s

qua

nder

it, o

r er

od

e it

alto

get

her.

It h

as p

icke

d u

p t

he c

asto

ffs o

f tha

t sy

stem

, tho

seite

ms

sud

den

ly r

end

ered

“o

ut o

f the

run

ning

” (in

a

mar

ket

driv

en s

ense

) — t

he u

sed

, the

so

iled

, the

bro

ken

— a

nd in

duc

ted

the

m in

to a

hyp

oth

esis

abo

ut a

leve

l of e

xper

ienc

e th

at s

till m

ight

be

po

ssib

le, i

f eve

ryo

ne is

will

ing

to

per

form

.

Julia

Ro

bin

son

is a

cur

ato

r an

d a

rt h

isto

rian

bas

ed in

New

Yo

rk. S

he is

cur

rent

ly c

om

ple

ting

he

r d

oct

ora

l dis

sert

atio

n o

n Fl

uxus

art

ist

Geo

rge

Bre

cht

at P

rince

ton

Uni

vers

ity.

1R

ola

nd B

arth

es, T

he In

ters

tice,

in E

mp

ire o

f Sig

ns,

Ric

hard

Ho

war

d t

rans

latio

n, (N

ew Y

ork

: Hill

and

Wan

g,

1982

), 24

-26.

2K

now

les,

Sta

tem

ent

(200

3), u

npub

lishe

d t

yped

pag

eg

iven

to

me

by

the

artis

t.3

Kno

wle

s, in

terv

iew

with

the

aut

hor,

July

200

3.4

Kno

wle

s, in

terv

iew

with

the

aut

hor,

May

200

3.5

Kno

wle

s, ib

id.

6K

now

les,

acc

epta

nce

stat

emen

t, C

olle

ge

Art

Ass

ocia

tion:

Life

time

Ach

ieve

men

t A

war

d, N

ew Y

ork

, 200

3.7 K

now

les,

ibid

.

Alis

on

Kno

wle

sis

a b

orn

New

Yo

rker

who

ha

s tr

avel

ed t

o J

apan

, Eur

op

e, K

ore

a an

d t

heN

ethe

rland

s th

e p

ast

40 y

ears

to

per

form

on

her

ow

n o

r w

ith h

er F

luxu

s g

roup

. She

als

o m

akes

dire

ct im

age

sun

prin

ts a

nd fa

bric

ates

her

ow

np

aper

in a

stu

dio

in B

arry

tow

n, N

Y, a

sto

ne's

th

row

fro

m t

he H

udso

n R

iver

.

The

Gah

lber

g G

alle

ry/M

cAni

nch

Art

s C

ente

rw

oul

d li

ke t

o t

hank

art

ist

Alis

on

Kno

wle

s fo

r sh

arin

g h

er e

xper

ienc

es a

nd w

ork

with

the

co

mm

unity

at

Co

lleg

e o

f DuP

age.

Man

y th

anks

g

o ou

t to

the

writ

er, J

ulia

Rob

inso

n, a

nd c

o-cu

rato

rsSt

epha

nie

Gio

rdan

o a

nd C

orin

ne L

ouw

for

thei

rg

ener

ous

co

ntrib

utio

ns t

o t

his

pro

ject

.

Bar

bar

a W

iese

nD

irect

or

and

Cur

ato

r

This

pro

gra

m is

par

tially

sup

po

rted

by

a g

rant

fro

m t

heIll

ino

is A

rts

Co

unci

l, a

stat

e ag

ency

and

by

The

Nat

iona

lE

ndo

wm

ent

for

the

Art

s.

Gah

lber

g G

alle

ryM

cAni

nch

Art

s C

ente

rC

olle

ge

of D

uPag

e C

olle

ge

425

Faw

ell B

lvd

.G

len

Elly

n, IL

601

37(6

30) 9

42-2

321

ww

w.c

od

.ed

u/A

rtsC

ntr/

gal

lery

.htm

On

bac

k co

ver:

Stre

et E

mb

edm

ents

,1970

Dic

k's

Bro

wn

Bre

ad B

oo

k,m

ixed

med

ia 2

000

7