Ferne Jacobs, Snow Circles, 1999, coiled and twined waxed linen thread, 14 1⁄8 x 12 7⁄8 x 10 5⁄8 in. (35.8 x 32.6 x 27.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2001.32
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Snow Circles
- Artist
- Date
- 1999
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 14 1⁄8 x 12 7⁄8 x 10 5⁄8 in. (35.8 x 32.6 x 27.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- Mediums Description
- coiled and twined waxed linen thread
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 2001.32
Artwork Description
Ferne Jacobs built this sculpture starting from the center of each circle, expanding and shaping the surface into a poignant vessel. She coiled and twined this form while her mother was dying. The title, Snow Circles, references a short story by Irish author James Joyce, “The Dead” (1914), that muses on how falling snow indiscriminately covers both the living and the dead. As Jacobs explains, “Stitch by stitch, cell by cell, I'm building a body,” and the circles speak to the cycle of life, from mother to child.
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