If you have an interest in line and negative space you will find the delicate paper cuts of Maude White fascinating. Her beautifully rendered paper cuts rely on negative space and line.
In an interview over on Art Voice, Maude White says
“I have great respect for paper. I trust it. There is something very comforting and safe about cutting into the paper, discovering some story hidden inside.”
I could not help but think that Maude White must also trust in a steady hand, as one slip of the blade and would destroy the piece!
I was once asked by a student why negative space is important. I wish I could have replied by pointing to Maude White’s exquisite paper cuts as her work demonstrates how negative spaces can be everything!
But design principals or technical concerns about paper cutting are not what drives Maude White, for in her artist statement she explains
“When I was a child I thought a great deal about hidden spaces. The intimacy, the hushed secrecy – I was always looking underneath objects, or through them. I have always believed that if you look hard enough, you will see something precious and new, or, perhaps, something incredibly ancient and sacred.
When I cut paper, I feel as if I am peeling back the outer, superficial layer of our vision to reveal the secret space beneath. With paper cutting there are so many opportunities to create negative space that tells its own story.”
The concept of revealing something, by what is not there rather rather than what is there made me savour the image and consider that moment of perception. Just wonderful!
For further information and to see more visit Maude White’s website or Maude White’s Pinterest board and over on Art Voice there is an interview where she discusses her work
In an interview published on Jackson’s Art, Sarah Burgess explains that these installations composed of threads intertwined with branches explore life and loss.
