Making It – Laila Voss and Bruce Edwards

Making It, 1995

South Side Galley. Gallery windows and door, window paint; also latex wall paint, 3’ x 12’ canvas.

This on-going action, a collaboration with Bruce Edwards, deals with many different issues that occur around the
subject of art making and “making it” in the art world.

For the five week duration of the show, we worked during gallery hours as well as at other times. Edwards continued
to paint the 3 x 12 foot canvas white – over and over with deliberate, repetitive strokes.

Using notes as a starting point, I continued writing, letter by letter, on the gallery windows both inside and outside
until it was two and three layers deep.

The information on the outside was gleaned from art research, including quotes from students, etc.

The inside continued a more personal response to the writing on the outside.

The writing covered the view of the interior where the “real art,” the painting, was in progress. The writing started blocking out the light as well. As the layers became more dense, the writing became more and more difficult to read, creating a metaphor for contemporary art criticism.

Laila Voss