Fred Sandback

Fred Sandback surrounded by yarn at Dia: Beacon

Image Courtesy of the Fred Sandback Archive

I first became enamoured with Fred Sandback's work when I visited Dia: Beacon in Beacon, New York. There are many great contemporary art pieces in the museum, which is an amazing space in its own right, but Sandback's use of yarn immediately appealed to me, of course. Sandback's main subject is the line (one of his pieces is in the current MoMA exhibition, On Line) and he achieves the line through yarn, wire, and drawings. His lines frame a Space which is imagined by the viewer. Sometimes there are many lines which create a more complex spatial construct, but many of his sculptures consist of just one string, stretched from one surface to another.  

A 1969 interview between Jörg Hausmann and Fred Sandback reveals the following discussion about Value in art and network culture, a common discussion over the course of this semester, especially in regards to Poetics and subjective ownership. Are there any original ideas anymore, or are we just repeating someone else's maneuvers? In Sandback's opinion, my version of his sculpture is just as valuable as his version. Another Dia: Beacon artist, Sol LeWitt, had a similar approach – the directions for a drawing becomes the artwork, sell them, and then anyone can execute the drawing. 

From "Fred Sandback: Licht, Raum, Tatsachen." Neue Rhein Zeitung, July 4, 1969:
Hausmann: Artists have always dreamed of producing art for everyone, art for small sums of money. It seems to me that artists today do anything but that. The opposite is even the case. As soon as an artist becomes in any way known, gets a few good reviews, or can fall back on an astute manager, the prices rise. What do you think of this development?
Sandback: I'm not sure if what you are saying is quite true. But if you want one of my objects, for example, you can simply imitate it. All you need is a piece of string. . . .
Hausmann: But would I then have a genuine Sandback?
Sandback: Are you claiming that there's something special about my strings that other strings don't have? 

Fred Sandback at Dia: Beacon, 

Image Courtesy of the Dia Art Foundation