Good Morning

Jim Hodges's delicate creations weave together a wide variety of materials, meanings and associations - like the spider webs that are an important motif in his work - to create pieces of breathtaking beauty. He takes familiar objects, combines a fresh interpretation of their formal qualities with an understanding of their historical connotations, and releases their potential, turning the mundane into poignant art. In this 1994 work, Hodges takes two of his signature materials - a diaphanous silk scarf and glittering silver chains - and, using his unique sense of visual aesthetic and strong appreciation for the craft process, infuses them with poetry and poignancy that reflects modern notions of life, love, romance and loss. The work plays with notions of memory to act as a receptacle for a personal history, infused with the story of the person who once owned the scarf and the life they led. Hodges also plays with the cultural connotations of the spider webs as a symbol of aging and decay, which he turns on its head by constructing his web out of pristine, polished silver. Hodges makes this rich visual imagery the very heart of the magic he weaves.

Hodges himself has said that his works "attempt to talk about the bigness of things, the wonder and the greatness of all life" (J. Hodges, quoted by D. Self, Jim Hodges: Welcome, Kansas City, 1998) and Good Morning is no exception. The artist favors working with domestic and unconventional materials and as beautifully demonstrated in the present lot, the attention to detail with which he lavishes his works is resplendently visible in its surfaces. The scrupulous level of workmanship is clearly visible in the meticulous and labor-intensive activity with which Hodges celebrates the artisanal process. By assembling and sewing together these chains and fabric by hand, Hodges helps to emphasize the personal and human qualities for which his best works are known.