Tara Donovan
(Born in 1969 in New York, New York)
Untitled (Pins), 2003
Size #17 straight pins
42 x 42 x 42 in. (106.7 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm)
Promised gift of Barbara Lee
Tara Donovan, the subject of an upcoming solo exhibition at the ICA, transforms everyday, disposable materials into formally elegant sculptures, installations, and works on paper. Untitled (Pins) is made from thousands of commonplace, silver straight pins. Formed into a perfect cube, it calls to mind the work of Minimalists like Donald Judd. In contrast to his industrially-created objects, Donovan makes this piece by pouring boxes upon boxes of pins into a four-sided mold. Once the sides are removed, the pins keep a cube shape, bound by nothing more than gravity.
Untitled (Rubber Bands), 2006
Relief print from rubber bands matrix
Image: 36 ½ x 24 ¾ in. (92.7 x 62.9 cm); Paper: 38 ½ x 26 in. (97.8 x 66 cm)
Version 30 of 35
Gift of Bruce A. Beal and Robert L. Beal in honor of Barbara Krakow
Untitled (Rubber Bands) is another example of Donovan’s unique use of common materials—here, in the service of printmaking. Rather than traditional printmaking tools, Donovan made this image with hundreds of rubber bands, which she arranged in a wooden box. She set the bands in place with glue, except for their top surface, which she stiffened with hairspray, allowing her to create a relief print of the pattern. The resulting black and white image is hypnotic, its dense, looping forms recalling the weave of a rug.