STRONG SILENT TYPE I, 2016
Blackened steel
Dimensions variable/site specific

STRONG SILENT TYPE II, 2016
Chromed steel
Dimensions variable/site specific

Two artworks, Strong Silent Type I and Strong Silent Type II, work individually as well as together in site-specific installations. In Abracadabra and Other Forms of Protection at the Weisman, Type I is displayed on the wall, and Type II on the floor. 

The various shapes in blackened steel and mirrored chrome do not immediately reveal their source or meaning.  Actually traced from sewing patterns, these shapes make subtle reference to the gendered labor of garment making.

These installations also cite Minimalism, a predominately male-led artistic movement of the 1960s typified by simple shapes, factory-made materials, and a presumed lack of emotional influence. Bart’s objects, however, are full of emotional content.

Bart hopes the black and mirrored forms will conjure associations with cinema. The strong silent type in film is an archetypal male whose strength is presumed by his emotional restraint. Bart recasts these cultural references to masculinity through a feminine lens.

A rectangular framing device makes allusions to portraiture. But if this is a portrait, it is not a revealing one. From shapes reminiscent of armor, we get the sense that what we see we cannot fully know. Throughout her career, across various media and genres, Bart has claimed the garment as a source of protection.

Publication:

  • Abracadabra and Other Forms of Protection, Laura Wertheim Joseph editor and curator, Weisman Art Museum, 2020

Exhibitions: