Post by Emilie Froh
Upon entering Gallery Joe and seeing the art on display, my extremely direct friend exclaimed, “this is bullshit!” I, of course, was shocked and appalled at her uncouth behavior and immediately tried to calm her down. She continued to rant and rail despite my pleas. Obviously, she did not appreciate Christine Hiebert’s exhibition (Drawing As Structure) and did not care who heard her point of view, including the artist herself, who was present somewhere in the gallery. In truth, it is a difficult body of work to digest and enjoy. The work consists of graphite or charcoal drawings and compositions of blue tape on paper. With these pieces, the artist claims to be exploring both physical and metaphysical structure. After I attempted to explain the importance of concept in contemporary art to my vexed companion, she explained that she didn’t care. She asked me if I would want to buy this art and take it home to hang on my wall. That, to her, and to most, is the important question. I personally believe that Hiebert’s ideas are strong enough to support her simple compositions and to make the work interesting – even if it isn’t overly stimulating. (image is one of Hiebert‘s untitled freehand drawings in Gallery Joe’s vault.)
–Emilie Froh is a student in Colette Copeland’s art criticism class at Penn.
[ed. note: For more on Hiebert, read Roberta’s post.]
