Structure #4
Artist
Colette Whiten
(Canadian, born 1945)
Date1972
Mediumwood, fiberglass, concrete blocks, rope, chain, foam, photographs
Dimensions209.5 x 450 x 622 cm
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Gift of the artist 1993.
Object number1993.2.a-c
Classificationssculpture
On View
Not on viewStructure #4 is part of a ground-breaking series produced by Colette Whiten in the early 1970s, combining sculpture, installation and performance. The fragmentation of the cool white figure may be reminiscent of ancient sculpture, if not for the concrete blocks and menacing structure behind it. The photographs document the casting of a young male model within an elaborate support structure. The work demystifies the process of casting the body in plaster, at the same evoking distress over that process.
Whiten challenges gender dynamics, political power and mass media imagery in her work. Her media choices are wide-ranging and her oeuvre includes large wooden sculptures, casting, tiny works in needlepoint, and beaded curtains. Each material choice is made to reveal the vulnerability and strength of the human body and spirit. Whiten received numerous teaching awards as a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto.
Whiten challenges gender dynamics, political power and mass media imagery in her work. Her media choices are wide-ranging and her oeuvre includes large wooden sculptures, casting, tiny works in needlepoint, and beaded curtains. Each material choice is made to reveal the vulnerability and strength of the human body and spirit. Whiten received numerous teaching awards as a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto.
