Anu Põder
Kersey Boot, the Foot Space of the 20th Century Man
| Artist: | Anu Põder (1947 - 2013) |
| Title: | Kersey Boot, the Foot Space of the 20th Century Man |
| Date: | 1999 |
| Technique: Material: |
soap, leather |
| Height (cm): | 200.0 |
| Width (cm): | 200.0 |
| Description: | The work was shown for the first time at the Riga Sculpture Quadrennial in 1999. The artist showed the installation in 2001 in a joint exhibition with Jaan Elken “Me and Other", at the Deco Gallery. Anu Põder who grew up in a farmhouse in Võrumaa remembers how the previous generation of women used to boil soap after pig sticking using the filthy remnants of grease and soapstone. Boiling soap was a dirty and smelly task, but it was a necessity and also a very creative activity. In its final phase it resembles sculptor's work: the soap has to be poured into the mould, left to cool down and then dried. The soap kersey boots, one of the symbols of the 20th century Estonian man, are made using the same methods as in making sculptures of brass, a valuable and noble metal. The soap mass is poured into old kersey boots as into moulds and after the soap had dried, the maker would cut the surrounding boot open. The final result is unique as the same mould cannot be used twice. Patches, stitches as well as grime and traces of colour that were preserved inside the boot that had been worn out and discarded - the soap perpetuates them all in the negative. It is difficult to imagine a stronger, more masculine image that relates to Estonian history. Juta Kivimäe |
| Exhibition history: | 2017 Kumu exhibition Anu Põder. Be Fragile! Be Brave! |
| Related categories: | Contemporary Art |
| Copyright notice: | Art Museum of Estonia |
| AME collection: | Sculpture collection |
| Collection number: | S 1739/1-19 |
| Accretion number: | EKM j 49068/1-19 |
| File info: |
Source type: digital photography File type: TIF File size: 85.60MB Resolution: 7260*4120px @ 300dpi |
