CLEPSYDRAS
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A clepsydra is a water clock: a device for measuring time by marking the gradual flow of liquids through a small opening. And Clepsydras–an installation by Jo Hormuth at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery–is an economical yet stimulating piece that marks the passage of time with objects that speak of the body. Forty phallic-shaped gourds painted gray are mounted approximately five feet from the floor in a horizontal line that stretches across three walls of a gallery room. Several feet below each gourd, near the floor, is mounted a clear six-inch drumhead. A very small hole has been pierced at the base of each gourd, and at the start of each day the gourds are filled with water. The drops hit the drumheads and fill the room with the sound of irregular beating.
Reminiscent of the work of the late Eva Hesse, whose sculpture was often composed of abstract biomorphic forms, this piece combines repeated shapes with some degree of irregularity to suggest the alienation of each component from the others. Though the phallic forms are all the same color and have been given the same placement, they are varied in shape and size. The variety of sounds produced–some louder, some softer, some quick, some slow–suggests a mysterious hierarchy. It seems the components are producing a nearly inaudible dialogue of competition, from which the viewer is excluded. The naturally produced sound also enlivens the work, giving it an animation that saves the piece from sterility.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Charles Hodges.
