Present Attendants

Stillness in motion.

Weave. Unravel. Burn. Engrave. Lift. 

Horsehair, denim, parchment, wood.

Here is material, here a task. 

Each focal point becomes a counterbalance 

to the surrounding immensity.

Who are these people at these tasks?

They are attendants.

What are they doing?

They are present.

In what? I ask and no response.

In their work.

Why, though?

Because it is theirs to do,

because they are with it.

***

Inspired by some of the installations of Ann Hamilton, featuring attendants engaged in simple, repetitive tasks, which the artist sees as representative of the presence required of art.