Untitled

Self-proclaimed “thing-maker,” Kiki Smith investigates the physiology and mortality of the human body in her artwork. Printmaking became an integral part of Smith’s artistic practice after 1980. This work, also commonly referred to as “the hair print,” represents a literal and metaphorical unfolding of the self as it reveals an image of a flattened imprint of the artist’s head in the round. This tangled network of curly strands of hair incorporates three distorted profiles of Smith’s face at the corners of the work. The subject of hair has a personal and cultural resonance with Smith. The artist’s given name is Chiara, and she was named after the saint, Clare of Assisi, who, when taking a vow of poverty, cut off her hair as part of her rejection of material wealth. Smith sees hair as intrinsically connected with the female experience. In an interview in which she discussed the role of hair in her work, Smith explained: “I think women have a thing about hair… many women make that renunciation—cutting off the hair as a form of self-mutilation. I mean, it’s a combination that is empowering, in order not to fit society… it’s about resistance, but also about creation and making more possibilities.”