Maren Hassinger's Presentation- Critique & EC

To begin, I want to say how great Hassinger's art was/is. Her attention to structure and color is impeccable. However, I was not a big fan of Maren Hassinger's presentation. While being amazed with how she made her sculptures or the movements she did at the park, I was met with confusion and frustration on to why she refused to admit that these sculptures had a deeper meaning. I believe that making art is important but making it mean something is almost equally as crucial.

Maren Hassinger, Wrenching News , 2008

For example, her piece: Wrenching News, was put together by ripping and abundance of pieces of the NY Times and twirling them in a way that they were pinned on a wall appearing to be a huge circle. This piece amazed about it. When asked about what the piece meant or why she chose the NY Times, she responded nonchalant and made it clear that she had no reason purpose of picking out this specific newspaper. Though I understand that some artists paint just paint or do things just to do it, I was not expecting that to be her answer. There has to be more to this piece than just ripped parts of newspapers attached and called "Wrenching News". She did not answer why she thought of doing this or what was going on in the world that pushed her to make the news a statement. 

When asked if her pieces are a protest, she responded with no. Hence, I was left at a uneasy spot. I associated many of her pieces with protest but she did not identify herself with that form of art. Thus, though I admired her art as a whole, I felt like I was missing something from her presentation and wish she focused more on the meaning of her pieces rather than her how she made them/ what materials she used or how the colors she chose popped out in numerous pieces. I feel like this will connect her to her audience more.