“To penetrate one thing is to penetrate all things”
--Dogen Zenji
rope (rp) n.

1. A flexible heavy cord of tightly intertwined hemp or other fiber.
2. A string of items attached in one line by or as if by twisting or braiding: a rope of onions.
3. A sticky glutinous formation of stringy matter in a liquid.
4. a. A cord with a noose at one end for hanging a person.
b. Execution or death by hanging: to die by the rope.
5. A lasso or lariat.
6. ropes Sports Several cords strung between poles to enclose a boxing or wrestling ring.
7. ropes Informal Specialized procedures or details: learn the ropes; know the ropes.
v. roped, rop·ing, ropes
v.tr.
1. To tie or fasten with or as if with rope.
2. To enclose, separate, or partition with or as if with a rope: rope off the scene of the crime.
3. To catch with a rope or lasso.

In recent years my work has gravitated toward the contemplation of everyday objects and what they reveal to us about our lives and the way we live in the world. This process has become for me a kind of archeology of the present moment.

The works included here are a meditation on the nature of rope. Because rope is at once a thing in and of itself and it is also a line in space, it lends itself to multiple metaphorical interpretations. Rope is solid and mutable; a preexisting three dimensional drawing, both elegant and humble, which calls to mind other patterns in nature such as the undulations of light on water, the body in motion, landscapes and rivers, etc.

Rope also carries with it certain conceptual metaphors. The purpose of rope is to tie or to bind. It references our need as human beings to form relationships and to see ourselves as a part of a larger web of existence. When our ties become too tight, however, we long to break free, to exert our independence and express our uniqueness within the larger structure. These conflicting desires form a tension that is fundamental to our human experience. In the pieces where the figure is included, the rope acts as a psychological foil to that figure.

All of the pieces shown here were produced by using a dry point tool to scratch the rope image into the surface of acrylic sheet in the same way a print maker creates a printing plate. Graphite is then used on the opposite side of the acrylic to form the drawings and/or the “shadows” of the rope. However, because these are essentially three dimensional drawings, a “real” shadow is also produced, creating a dynamic interplay between what is perceived as real and what is an illusion.

Monica Reede

Monica Reede