Lillian Elliott, Wind Form, 1989, tapa bark cloth, acrylic paint, and waxed linen thread, 15 1⁄2 x 34 3⁄4 x 13 1⁄4 in. (39.4 x 88.3 x 33.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund, 1996.42
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Wind Form
- Artist
- Date
- 1989
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 15 1⁄2 x 34 3⁄4 x 13 1⁄4 in. (39.4 x 88.3 x 33.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Renwick Acquisitions Fund
- Mediums Description
- tapa bark cloth, acrylic paint, and waxed linen thread
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Abstract
- Allegory — element — air
- Object Number
- 1996.42
Artwork Description
From 1989 to 1992, Lillian Elliott created a number of works from the bark of birches, willows, palms and other plants, which she manipulated as a ceramist shapes clay. In Wind Form the painted and natural tapa bark cloth encloses space, showing Elliott's interest in the way objects suggest an "inside" and "outside" to the viewer. The broken lines of stitching function as a kind of drawing, emphasizing the contours and angles of the material.