Eva Hesse - Working through the Absurdity of Life (1hr 48 mins)

 

Eva Hesse with “Metronomic Irregularity” at the opening reception for “Eccentric Abstraction,” Fischbach Gallery, NY 1966. (Credit: Norman Goldman) (pbs.org)
(1hr 48 mins)

The documentary "Eva Hesse" focuses on the life and work of Jewish German-American artist Eva Hesse. She was born in Germany in 1936 and came to America in 1939 where she began to pursue art. Her work explores a large variety of mediums including paintings, drawings, latex, resins, wire, and many more unconventional materials. She drew inspiration from abstract expressionism and minimalism, but in her own unique style that expresses themes of play, exploration, and absurdity.

Eva Hesse, Hang Up, Acrylic on cloth over wood; acrylic on cord over steel tube, 1966

What I find fascinating and inspiring about Eva Hesse is her ability to create and explore relentlessly, even through times of struggle and despair. As a child, Eva's family fled their home to escape Nazi Germany. She was displaced from her home, lost members of her family in concentration camps, and would later lose her mother to suicide. In her adult life she faced hardships such as alcoholism and infidelity in her marriage, and eventually became divorced. She later would become sick with cancer and have an operation to remove a brain tumor. Through all of this, Eva never stopped making art. She dedicated her life to creating, playing, and exploring through art. Her work, Hang Up, pictured above, explores the absurdity of life. She felt her life had consisted of extreme feelings, from both ends of the spectrum. She wanted this work to feel absurd, and to play with the boundaries between painting and sculpture.

Eva Hesse, Untitled, 1965, goache on paper

Something I will always be inspired by is Eva Hesse's ability to just create art simply for the purpose of creating it. The film explores a moment in Eva's life where she is back in Germany, traveling with her then-husband as he works on a sculpture for a German art collector. This period in her life brought up a lot of uncomfortable emotions and internal struggles for her, and she found herself feeling stuck with her work. She wrote many letters to her close friend Sol LeWitt, where she expresses to him that she feels like her work isn't going anywhere. She says that she feels like a failure, and that she doesn't know what her work is about. He encourages her to just "do," to just keep creating, no matter what it is, and that's exactly what she does. Even during times when she feels lost, she continues to create without a specific path or goal in mind. I think many artists can relate to this feeling. I personally relate to feeling stuck or lost with my own work, and it is inspiring to see Eva Hesse continue to create for herself and to continue experimenting. 

Eva Hesse, Right After, Latex over rope, string, and wire, 1969

Eva Hesse is remembered for her ability to create and persevere through the many struggles in her life, but she is also remembered for her inventive, unique, and unconventional artistic methods. This includes her use of materials and exploring with different mediums, and individual approach to art movements that were current during this time such as Minimalism. She drew on inspiration from the Minimalist movement, but did so with a more personal and free approach that is uniquely her own. Her unique and experimental approach has made her one of the most memorable artists of the 20th-century.