Hiebert prepared the paper with several coats of rabbit-skin glue to create a lustrous and tactile surface. She then quickly and perhaps even aggressively laid down strokes of charcoal that she sometimes erased and sanded away. Her marks are extremely varied in density, speed, and expression. The experience of following her traces across the paper can be compared to a dance, reserved for the eyes. The process of creation, however, is slow-paced. Hiebert describes it as organic growth, in which the presence of one mark calls forth another, until a tension or balance is achieved that the artist recognizes as completion of the work. In many works, drawn with mixed media, charcoal, or blue tape on paper or the wall, Hiebert engages with large formats that invite viewers to immerse themselves into a dynamic space accentuated by her marks.
Object Description
From: Joachim Homann
Date: Monday, November 14, 2016 at 9:47 AM
To: Michelle Henning
Cc: "Laura J. Latman (work)"
Subject: Re: Information from Christine Hiebert regarding object information
Thank you, Michelle, the funny thing is that there is actually brown—conte crayon—in there, but Christine had written a letter in the object file that also had specified that only charcoal was used. So: let’s make sure conte crayon is listed as medium and a note about her comments is updating the object file (I will put this in) and in EmbArk.
Thanks,
Joachim
--
Joachim Homann, Ph.D.
Curator
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
9400 College Station
Brunswick, ME 04011
Ph: ++1.207.725.3064
Email: jhomann@bowdoin.edu
From: Michelle Henning
Date: Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 4:13 PM
To: Joachim Homann
Subject: Information from Christine Hiebert regarding object information
Hi Joachim,
I just heard from Christine Hiebert regarding her work in our collection,
Christine Hiebert, Untitled (S.00.11), 2000, charcoal and rabbit skin glue on paper, 10 in. x 10 in. Let me know if Laura and/or I should update our records.
If you've approved the changes, whoever is taking care of the captions should receive the information as well.
See you tomorrow.
Michelle
________________________________________
From: Christine Hiebert
Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2016 4:03 PM
To: Michelle Henning; ch@christinehiebert.com
Subject: Re: your work to be in an exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Dear Michelle,
Sincere apologies, I have no memory of your prior email. I did spend most of the summer traveling, so perhaps that is the reason for my oversight.
In any case, I am delighted that my work will be included in your exhibition and catalog. The correct credit information is:
Christine Hiebert, Untitled (S.00.11), 2000, charcoal and rabbit skin glue on paper, 10 in. x 10 in
To my knowledge, no crayon was used. (An earlier database of mine is inaccessible at the moment. Nor am I able to locate a photo of that piece; and cannot tell from the lo-res image you sent me. If there is any brown in the drawing, it would have indeed been conte crayon).
In further explanation, the paper is water-stretched and coated with rabbit skin glue first; drawing is made with charcoal on top of this surface. Between 1990 and 2008 or 2009, most of the large-scale drawings and many of the small works were made in this way. I had discovered that the glue surface provides a tooth that holds the charcoal in a crisp way, and also lends itself to interesting erasure using a pink eraser, or sandpaper by hand, or a finishing sander.
I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to write or call with any further queries and will reply right away. And if I am too late with any correction of the caption info, what you have is close enough. I am, as I said, very happy to be included in your catalog.
Kind regards,
Christine Hiebert
___
Christine Hiebert
www.christinehiebert.com
christinehiebert@gmail.com
347-262-7254
