Kiki Smith
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Kiki Smith (born January 18, 1954, in
Nuremberg, Germany) is an American artist classified as a
feminist artist, a movement with beginnings in the twentieth
century. Her Body Art is imbued with political significance,
undermining the traditional erotic representations of women by
male artists, and often exposes the inner biological systems of
females as a metaphor for hidden social issues. Her work also
often includes the theme of birth and regeneration, sustenance,
and frequently has Catholic allusions. Smith has also been
active in debate over controversies such as AIDS, gender, race,
and battered women. Smith began sculpting in the late 1970s. She
is best known for her sculptures; however, she creates pieces in
a variety of media. She was an active member of the artist's
group Colab.
Her print collection is particularly
extensive and began in the 1980s. The Museum of Modern Art
(MOMA) has consistently collected her prints, and now owns over
fifty of her print projects. Speaking of the quality of
reproduction inherent to the medium, Smith has stated that
"Prints mimic what we are as humans: we are all the same and yet
every one is different. I think there's a spiritual power in
repetition, a devotional quality, like saying rosaries."
(1998)Since 1980, Smith has produced a myriad of work in mediums
such as sculptures, prints, installations and others that have
been admired for having a highly developed, yet sometimes
unsettling, sense of intimacy in her works’ timely political and
social provocations. These traits have brought her critical
success.
In the Blue Prints series 1999, Kiki
Smith experimented with the aquatint process. The "Virgin with
Dove" was achieved with aquatint and airbrushing with stop out,
an acid resist that protects the copper plate and prevents the
Prussian blue ink from adhering therefor creating a halo around
the Virgin and Holy Spirit. This image of the Virgin is a
powerful example of contemporary Marian art. Smith's first works
were screenprints on dresses, scarves and shirts, often with
images of body parts. In association with artist group Colab,
Smith printed an array of posters in the early 1980s containing
political statements or announcing upcoming events. A sampling
of her other works include: All Souls (1988), a screenprint on
36 attached sheets of handmade Thai paper with repetitive images
of a fetus, in black and white. Smith created similar prints
including Untitled (Baby's Heads), 1990 and Untitled (Negative
Legs), 1991. How I Know I'm Here (1985) is a 16-foot,
horizontal, four part linocut depicting internal organs
including a heart, lungs, and male and female reproductive
organs, intermingled with etched lines representing her own
feet, face, and hands. Possession Is Nine-Tenths of the Law
(1985) is a nine part print portfolio that individualizes and
calls attention to the body's internal organs. Smith used the
image of a human ovum, surrounded on one side by protective
cells, in Black Flag (1989), and 'Cause I'm On My Time (inserts
for Fawbush Gallery Invitations ) (1990).
Mary Magdelene (1994), a sculpture made
of silicon bronze and forged steel, features a woman's nude body
in an untraditional way: her whole body is flayed, skin removed
to show bare muscle tissue. However, her face, breasts and area
surrounding her navel remain smooth. She wears a chain around
her ankle and her face is relatively undetailed and is turned
upwards. Smith's sculpture Standing (1998), featuring a female
figure standing atop the trunk of a dead Eucalyptus tree, is a
part of the Stuart Collection of public art on the campus of the
University of California, San Diego.
Smith has also created an extensive
collection of self-portraits, nature-themed works, and many
pieces that depict scenes from fairy-tales, often in
unconventional ways.
Smith feel that she makes traditional
objects.
