Interpretations of Eva Hesse's Drawing

Two Circles, charcoal on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

 This was so hard for me to do!! I'm not a minimalist at all! It took so much to keep myself from filling in details. I had to force myself to stop. Eva Hesse's ideas were in my head as much as possible. My favorite  is that of disintegration and allowing things to change. I just think that's so beautiful.

Spiked Seashell, acrylic on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Woven Circles, ink and pencil on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Worm Circles, block print, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Gio's Original Eva Hesse Painting, tempera on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

 The boys did a painting using only black and white and then they took another paper to create a mono print. The first painting is the original and the second is the print. When the white mixed with black they made a grey-blue. They must have used blue for the black base. It turned out great, so I'm glad! Sometimes the cheap art materials surprise you!

Gio's Eva Hesse Mono Print, termpera on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Eamon's Original Eva Hesse Painting, tempera on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Eamon's Eva Hesse Mono Print, termpera on paper, copyright Nina Leung, 2013

Children Recreating Eva Hesse's Drawing

For a minimalist, Eva Hesse-inspired project for the kids, I decided on a mono print project. It's simple, it's fun, and both boys were pleased with the results. Before we began, I showed them some examples of Eva Hesse's drawings and paintings, told them about minimalism, organic shapes, and how Eva Hesse loved change and disintegration. Sure, some of these ideas are quite complex, but they listened intently and it's often surprising what they remember. Try it!

Eva Hesse's Drawings

Ipad rendering of drawing by Eva Hesse (No title)

Eva Hesse has always been a favorite of mine. She is known for her sculpture which is organic and flexible with a lot of movement. She loved impermanence and change, welcoming the disintegration of her work. Those sculptural tendencies are in evidence in her drawings, like the one above, which show a great understanding of space. Her career began as a painter, but with the introduction of papier-mâché in her work, she began an interest and love for sculpture.

SFMOMA has a great interactive web feature on Eva Hesse that's really fun to browse through. It explains her work in simple terms and can help the novice understand her complex thinking. 

Travelling in Eva Hesse's Drawings

If this Eva Hesse drawing were a place, it would be.......

New York City!