Verbal Description Transcript:

Constellation with Red Knife dates from 1943. It’s made of wood, wire, and paint and measures 1 foot 7 inches high by 1 foot 9 inches wide by 1 foot 3 inches deep. This work is abstract but, unlike others in the exhibition, it is a collection – or assemblage – of carved wooden pieces, joined together by straight lengths of wire that are painted red, yellow, and black. The sculpture is displayed resting on a cylindrical plinth, 2 and a half feet in diameter. The carved pieces of wood are unpainted and are of different colors of natural wood, from almost black, to reddish brown, to light pine color. The texture and grain of the pieces vary: some are smooth and retain some surface sheen; others are rougher. On some the grain of the wood is visible in the form of wavy lines. In some the marks of the carving tool are apparent, in the form of little notches in the wood. The pieces also vary in size and shape. The largest piece, towards the center of the composition, is rather like a flat blade pointing downwards; but instead of reaching a point at the bottom, it extends outwards again into a square-sided upright block. The sides of the block curve inwards in the middle and then outwards again towards the base. Attached to this central knife-like piece are several wires leading to the other carved pieces of wood. The wires themselves are painted in muted shades of red, orange and yellow. The pieces of wood are irregular in shape: some are roughly rounded, like lumps of stone; others are flatter or more elongated or curved. The wires extend the sculpture outwards at the sides and also upwards. The highest point of the composition is formed by a wire that projects upwards and is threaded with 2 small lumps, rather like irregularly shaped wooden beads.