| Perishables Philip E. Harding This work is about mortality and the temporary nature of art and life. The baby picture in the middle is of my big sister, Sarah K. Harding, 1955 - 1974 who was the first to encourage my art and buy me supplies. In the mid 1980s I built this piece out of elements from earlier periods in my life and a few from my sister's life that for a multitude of reasons, some out of my control and some within, had become distant to me. The wire dome was from a series of models for architectural projects that no longer seemed possible. The base was fabricated from a mat of jute string, sweet grass, pulped papers, and a blend of herbs all layered over with old tattered pieces of rice paper that I had been saving for projects long forgotten. The contents of the dome began with the picture in a silver frame, a personal heirloom that placed the work outside the realm of art that could be sold and into the realm of real value. Around the dome are dozens of small objects ranging from bead earrings from my sister's jewelry box to things from my own younger days including a rose bud from a prom, a bubblegum machine Star Trek pen, a little buddha from Malaysia, a one-a-day vitamin, antique hair pin, hand painted Moroccan bead, a nickel I shot with my first 22 rifle and vastly more. I consciously used non archival materials knowing the work would never last and in the 30 years since it was first build some of the rice paper around the edges has been flaking off. I'm not sure what the long term holds for this piece but it seems like a good example for the kind of work I would make more of if I had the resources to work only for myself. |
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