Final
Isabel Arellano
Repetition
Sculpture II
April 28, 2008
Repetition is a principle of design where a single element appears again and again. Repetition is one of the elements that almost always work. Why is it that artists are attracted to using repetition? And, why is it that repetition almost never fails to work? Repetitions found in nature, in the study of science and repetition as a formal rule of design have inspired several artists to create interesting works of art. Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tara Donovan, and Allan McCollum are some artists whose work usually employ this principle for art making.
Repetition in art is most commonly used to unify a composition. This element works mainly because when any part of the design is repeated the mind is able to understand the composition as a whole, and a sense of order is introduced. Repetition has several classical functions, it helps defer closure in a work of art by establishing expectations of recurrence while giving pleasure to the viewer…[1] Repetition of visual elements, such as lines, shapes, or colors also may suggest movement as well as giving the viewer a sense of stability and constancy.
Repetition is visually appealing because it has played an important part in the composition of our organisms, as well as the world we live in. Ellen K. Levy states, that biological actions such as DNA replication, where the original strands of the double helix brake to complement themselves and create new ones, and cellular reproduction, where each cell divides itself to create two new cells, are embedded in the core of our brains. These types of biological processes are one of the reason why when we encounter repetition in art the viewer feels a sense of familiarity and order. Mathematics is another field where we can encounter the influence of repetition in the study and understanding of our world, in a phenomenon called fractals. Fractals are generally fragmented geometric shapes that can be subdivided into parts, each of which is at least approximately a reduced-size copy of the whole.[2] Fractals repeated parts seem the same at all levels of magnification that is why they considered to be infinite. In nature it is possible to find elements like clouds, snowflakes, plants and some vegetables, which share this repetition fractal characteristic; however the patterns exhibited in nature are finite.
Even though repetition tends to work most of the time, it can also become boring and monotonous, over predictability can cause the lost of interest from the viewer. It is important to introduce variation to the repetition; this variation creates a tension which helps to hold the observer’s attention while creating excitement and enjoyment. Variation, can come from the differentiation in shapes, compositions, and the idea that the artist projects. Repetition with variation offers the viewer the opportunity to explore the individual parts of the pieces which adds interest and surprise to the artist’s work. Artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tara Donovan and Allan McCollum work with repetition as a way to transform the materials and to convey layers of ideas in their work.
Abakanowicz’s is a Polish sculptor who combines materials such as bronze, stone, with organic objects such as fabrics, rope and canvas to make large pieces that convey the idea of multitude and the individual, of justice and injustice. “Abakanowicz [I] feel[s] overwhelmed by quantity where counting no longer makes sense. By unrepeatability within such quantity. Creatures of nature gathered in herds, droves, species, in which each individual while subservient to the mass retains some distinguishing features.” Some of the pieces the artist is best known for, are installations of over life-size figures which are usually parts of the body, heads, limbs or torsos, Agora, Bronze Crowd, and Backs are some examples of the way the artist uses repetition to communicate her ideas. Even though the pieces that the artist produces are multiples similar to each other, and sometimes over 80 figures per installation, the artist finds that every one of her pieces is different. The artist uses tree trunks, fabrics and other natural materials to create prints in each of the figures. “Each of her figures is an individual[ity], with its own expression, with specific details of skin, organic, with the imprint of the artist’s fingers.”[3]
In contrast with Abakanowicz, whose pieces get their differences from marks acquired during the process, Allan McCollum creates series that are composed of numerous elements which are deliberately different from each other, either by color, shape or size. McCollum is an American artist who deals with the idea of identity in mass production. Collection of One Hundred Plaster Surrogates, Perfect Vehicles, and Over Ten Thousand Individual Works are some examples of how McCollum work explores the idea of how objects achieve public and personal meaning, finding individuality in each piece.[4] Over Ten Thousand Individual Works is an installation divided into two, each one in different galleries. Every part of this installation has over 10,000 different pieces each. The top and bottom parts of each piece were made from 150 household items.
Every single element of the installation is different not two of them is alike; the uniformity in size and color gives the impression of mass productivity.[5]
The viewer might be impressed by the amount of the pieces in the room; however, the surprise comes when looking at each piece and noticing the subtle differences that exist in the work.
Tara Donovan is another contemporary American Artist who deals with repetition. Donovan’s work is more focused in the transformation of the materials she uses. Common objects such as paper plates, straws, toothpicks, and cups are some of the materials used to create large scale installations that suggest shapes and forms found in nature. Without modifying the physical properties of the materials Donovan pushes the objects until creating new forms. In some level Donovan’s work also deals with mass produce items like McCollum; however Donovan instead of finding uniqueness in the materials, she uses them to create a new object. Donovan’s installations are great examples of “…how the viewer, accustomed to seeing the materials in a familiar domestic context, has to re-think and re-visualize them as they take shape in new forms.”[6]
These three artists have used repetition to create, to transform and to transmit ideas. The variation in each work of art is what makes the viewer get lost in the piece, and the ideas that the artist want to convey is what moves the viewer to reflect and react to the work.
[1] Ellen K. Levy, “Repetition and the Scientific model in Art,” Art Journal: 79.
[2] Benoit B. Mandelbrot, The Fractal Geometry of Nature (San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and company, 1983).
[3] Magdalena Abakanowicz, “About Magdalena Abakanowicz,” http://www.abakanowicz.art.pl, (accessed April 20, 2008).
[4] Anne Rorimer, “Self-Referentiality and Mass-Production in the Work of Allan McCollum,” Reprint from ALLAN McCollum Stedeluk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Holland, 1989: 3
[5] Anne Rorimer: 5.
[6] Sabine7, comment on “Tara Donovan’s Cube of Toothpicks,” The Modern and Contemporary Art Blog, comment posted August 5, 2005, http://www.mocoloco.com/art/archives/001293.php
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