Arachne

Bruce Conner, Arachne, 1959, mixed media: nylon stockings, collage, cardboard, 65 ³⁄₄ x 48 ³⁄₄ x 4 ¹⁄₄ in. (167.0 x 123.8 x 10.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin, 2005.5.12

Artwork Details

Title: Arachne
Artist: Bruce Conner
Date: 1959
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 65 ³⁄₄ x 48 ³⁄₄ x 4 ¹⁄₄ in. (167.0 x 123.8 x 10.7 cm)
Credit Line: Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin
Mediums: mixed media
Mediums Description: mixed media: nylon stockings, collage, cardboard
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Mythology — classical — Arachne
Object — other — sewing tool
Animal — insect — spider
Object Number: 2005.5.12
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2005.5.12

Artwork Description

Violence and decay appear to lurk beneath suffocating webs of nylon in Bruce Conner's Arachne. This assemblage of found objects reflects the junk art and beat culture of Northern California in the 1950s. Conner's use of throwaway objects as art materials contrasts with the sunny, consumerist ethos of pop art. Titled after a character from Greek mythology, Arachne hints at, rather than illustrates, the narrative of a proud girl who wove stories of the gods' misbehavior into her cloth, boasting that she could outperform Athena, her teacher and goddess of spinners and weavers. Out of spite, Athena transformed Arachne into a spider, condemning her to weave webs in the darkness until the end of time.