Andrea Zittel are painting and sculpture are forms of representation. When she moved to New York, she bred animals with living units that included everything that they needed to survive. She then did this for herself, and in her self-sufficient ‘pad’ she did not have a shower or a bath, but a large washing-up bowl.
After this project, Zittel found that she had no direction for her work, and this made her think, or obsess over perfection. In her house, Zittel had a bowl system of big, medium and small, and this was especially seen when hosting parties. The kitchen itself has a small stove and a small fridge, which suggests that she does not cook for many, and the table is for a large number of people. The floor in the kitchen and patio points towards modernism. In the bathroom, Zittel hand laid the floor tiles, and everything is laid out neatly in windowed-cupboards titled ‘addition’, ‘subtraction’ etc.
In the house, Zittel also made garments to do with the seasons. This stemmed from geometric ideals and would only wear rectangles, which she wore for a year. This moved onto producing crocheted dresses because it was all from one strand.
When Zittel was twelve, her family bought a sailing boat which she would obsess over, specifically the way in which the boat would move. This gave her the idea of creating a floating concrete island that which Zittel is going to live on for a month. Zittel finds this terrifying but enchanting, as well as all the other adventures she has been on with her artwork.
Most of Zittel’s work is about creating illicit personal and controllable situations. Her work is often about isolation. Zittel is interested in human values, perceptions and the understanding of meaning.
I enjoyed seeing the progression of Zittel’s work throughout the years, and how she has moved onto producing liveable ‘eco-systems’.
Charlotte Abraham Art 