Beatrice Wood USA, 1893-1998
Escalator, 1979
Coloured pencil and pencil on paper
11 3/4 x 9 7/8 in
30 x 25 cm
30 x 25 cm
In a maze of escalators, a girl moves in one direction, and old woman in another. Created in 1979 at the age of 86, the artist was beginning lose friends...
In a maze of escalators, a girl moves in one direction, and old woman in another. Created in 1979 at the age of 86, the artist was beginning lose friends to old age and feeling the pain of repeated losses. Though she could not know she would live a long time, even writing in 1985 at the age of 92, she spoke of not feeling her age and being surprised at her face in the mirror. Always connected to her childhood and the vivid experience of life that children are blessed with, the girl and the woman were together and apart in the same maze.
It bears mentioning that the motif of figures on staircases could be a reference to Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, which held pride of place in the Arensberg's home.
It bears mentioning that the motif of figures on staircases could be a reference to Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, which held pride of place in the Arensberg's home.
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