Being on Top
Artist
Jane Hammond
(American, born 1950)
Date1992
MediumMixed-media on paper
DimensionsFrame Size: 35 × 31 1/2 in. (88.9 × 80 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineGift of John Hilberry, 2015
Object numberUAC6401
DescriptionHammond’s “Being On Top” depicts a fun, carnivalesque atmosphere albeit with darkly uncanny undertones. The central figure is depicted as a wildly eccentric persona, with tuning rod in mouth, a comically small top head illustrated in shades of shoe polish black upon their head. A vibrant, fire red chicken perches on the hat; her pearl white, pupil-less eye lending her a foreboding, mystical presence. Other, smaller figures circle around this larger composition in various levels of opacity; maiden’s heads, disembodied hands holding large rings, a vibrant yellow rope segment, a small stuffed rabbit, various types of flowers alongside many other sketchy forms dance around, interacting with and sometimes overshadowing the arguably central hatter. “Being On Top” reads like a surrealist explosion of nostalgic imagery from the visual culture of the 19th century, a fine art version of a doodle crafted by the distracted mind of someone disinterestedly taking class notes. Like much of her other collaged compositions, this piece begs questions of the artist’s intentions; do these figures speak for her, serving stand ins for her own understanding of self or is this a reflection of digested imagery reiterated back to her viewers through the distorted lese of recalled memory?Jane Hammond takes a surrealist approach in many of her works, demonstrating her affections for literature, language, and the compositions of John Cage through her whimsical collages often constructed with found imagery collected from a variety of source material reflecting her many interests. Her aim is to craft pieces “as complicated, inconsistent, varied, multifaceted as you are, as I am, as life is(1).” Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut she studied biology and poetry in addition to visual art at Mount Holyoke College. After graduating in 1972, she went on to obtain M.F.A.s from Arizona State University (1973-74) in ceramics and University of Wisconsin- Madison (1977) in sculpture. Currently, Hammond lives and works in New York City.
Written by Kat Goffnett
(1) Wallach, Amei. “To a Painter, Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures.” New York Times, 13 Oct. 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/arts/art-architecture-to-a-painter-words-are-worth-a-thousand-pictures.html.
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